Escape from Overshoot

Earth overshoot will end either by design or by disaster. Which future should we choose?
An excellent primer on key insights and questions in ecological economics from a celebrated pioneer of the field.
¿JASON HICKEL, author, Less is More
The perfect launch pad for new economic thinking.
¿JOHAN ROCKSTRÖM, co-author, Earth for All
A superb account of the economic ideas which helped lead us here, and the rich menu of post-growth options currently available. ¿JULIET SCHOR, author, Plenitude
All who care about the kind of world we are leaving to our grandchildren ... must read this vital book.
¿DAVID SUZUKI
A sweeping analysis of the flawed economic mindset that has pushed us to the brink and an inspired prescription for the new economics needed to help pull us back.
¿WILLIAM REES, co-author, Our Ecological Footprint
A tour de force ... [and] must read for anyone concerned about our collective future.
¿PRATIMA BANSAL, University of Western Ontario
Essential insights into the economic thinking that led to social and environmental disaster.
¿RICHARD B. NORGAARD, University of California, Berkeley
EARTH IS IN OVERSHOOT. The juggernaught of economic growth rolls on, consuming the biosphere, breaking planetary boundaries, and stretching inequality and injustice to the breaking point. But does it really need to be this way? And if not, what are the options?
In Escape from Overshoot, celebrated ecological economist Peter A. Victor takes us on a grand tour of the overshoot crisis. From the history of economic thought through energy and material blindness, we learn how we got here and why collapse is inevitable unless we change course. But as the clock ticks, what pathways are possible and plausible? Victor surveys the alternatives ¿ from green growth and doughnut economics to well-being, steady-state, and post-growth economics ¿ and their limits. He then dives into what the latest and most sophisticated economic modelling tells us about whether we can intentionally shrink our economy and avoid collapse, all while enhancing human thriving and justice for all. The results are both surprising and profound.
Ambitious, measured, and accessible, Escape from Overshoot is a vividly illustrated guide to the past, present, and future of the human economic project and our place on planet earth.
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PETER A. VICTOR, PhD, is Professor Emeritus at York University and author of Managing without Growth. He lives in Toronto, Ontario.