Frederick soddy was a chemist who won the nobel prize in 19 26. He realized that, as a result of the theory he had helped develop, what they then call sub atomic energy would become available. And so he said, well, it's because of the economy. Our economy's screwed up and we don't know what we're doing. We create money out of nothing, and we destroy it into nothing. Money is supposed to be the symbol or counter for real wealth. If if the symbol we use can do things which the reality that it's supposed to symbolize cannot do, then we're going to screw up. And we already are, and we have been.
On this episode, we meet with ecological economist and professor emeritus at the University of Maryland, Herman Daly.
Daly discusses the biophysical underpinnings of human economies, and how a social system that is more tethered to our ecological reality might come into being.
Daly explains how the transformation from classical economics to neoclassical economics created an understanding of the world that prioritized utility and money above all else. How did neoclassical economics contribute to our current predicament?
Further, Daly explores what he believes to be the best-case scenario humans face in the next decade.
About Herman Daly
Herman Daly is Professor Emeritus of economics at the University of Maryland School of Public Policy, former senior economist at the World Bank, and a founder of the field of ecological economics. He is the author of For The Common Good, Valuing the Earth, the textbook Ecological Economics, and many other books, essays, and academic papers
For Show Notes and Transcript visit: https://www.thegreatsimplification.com/episode/06-herman-daly