New critical guide to degrowth argues that we can improve people’s lives simply by sharing what we already have more fairly and investing in public goods.
Rising oil prices correlate to higher compensation for chief executives, yet their pay cheques don't go down when prices fall, research shows. LUCAS DAVIS and CATHERINE HAUSMAN report
Thatcherism was the implementation of neoliberalism - the school of free market economics led by Friedrich von Hayek. This school claimed economics was a science that should direct society and social policy. But, strangely, Hayek felt science itself should be avoided - as it led to socialism. BRENDAN MONTAGUE reports
Hayek achieved his dream of becoming a university academic - but could he really challenge the intellectual prowess and political influence of the master John Maynard Keynes? BRENDAN MONTAGUE investigates
Systems thinking - and in particular game theory - can provide startling new insights into how and why liberal economics is leading to a fatal depletion of ecological landscapes. It can also provide 'an alternative pathway', writes DR ROBERT BIEL
Adam Smith, the author of The Wealth of Nations, is sometimes credited as the first political economist and many of his followers today advocate free market, laissez-faire, policy. Here Dr ROBERT BIEL argues that Smith was also an early systems theorist - but also sets out why Smith's theory and the system he described are a threat to our ecology
Environment secretary Michael Gove said he is convinced “climate change is a danger” but that efforts to cut greenhouse gas emissions must not come at the expense of economic growth. MAT HOPE of DeSmog UK reports
The Shock of the Anthropocene has been translated from French into English and published by Verso. NATALIE BENNETT, the former Green Party leader, explains how it is an important, informative and interesting book which all ecologists should read.
With oil prices remaining low, the world's oil industry is facing bleak years ahead, writes Paul Brown. The global push to decarbonise the economy, combined with surging renewable energy and the trend to more efficient and electric vehicles, is denting investor confidence and pointing to the shrinking away of a once mighty and profitable industry.
Pollution caused by burning fossil fuels are already causing the premature deaths of 200,000 people a year - in the US alone, writes Pete Dolack. Add up the figures worldwide and it comes to many millions. And that's before we even count the catastrophic long term impacts of global warming. The US response: to loosen anti-pollution regulation and encourage increased oil, coal and gas production.
This year's prestigious Leontief Prize for economics has been awarded to Professors James Boyce and Joan Martinez-Alier for their ground-breaking theoretical and applied work integrating ecological, developmental, and justice-oriented approaches into the field of economics. They are worthy winners, says NICK MEYNEN
So-called 'smart meters' are being rolled out across the UK, writes David Toke, but they don't support the dynamic pricing that's essential to expand renewable energy and decarbonise our electricity. It's time for green NGOs to get campaigning - and not leave vital decisions to a hostile government, a failing regulator and industry insiders.
