The End of Growth: Adapting to Our New Economic Reality

by Richard Heinberg Narrated by Paul Boehmer

Overview

Economists insist that recovery is at hand, yet unemployment remains
high, real estate values continue to sink, and governments stagger under record deficits. The End of Growth proposes a startling
diagnosis: humanity has reached a fundamental turning point in its
economic history. The expansionary trajectory of industrial civilization
is colliding with non-negotiable natural limits.

Richard
Heinberg's latest landmark work goes to the heart of the ongoing
financial crisis, explaining how and why it occurred, and what we must
do to avert the worst potential outcomes. Written in an engaging, highly readable style, it shows why growth is being blocked by three factors:

• Resource depletion
• Environmental impacts
• Crushing levels of debt

These converging limits will force us to re-evaluate cherished economic theories and to reinvent money and commerce.

The End of Growth describes
what policy makers, communities, and families can do to build a new
economy that operates within Earth's budget of energy and resources. We can thrive during the transition if we set goals that promote human and environmental well-being, rather than continuing to pursue the now-unattainable prize of ever-expanding GDP.

Editorial Reviews

From the Publisher

"Clearly written and argued . . . Heinberg's contrarian view on growth is highly recommended to all [listeners] interested in economics, sustainability, and future trends." ---Library Journal

Library Journal

Heinberg (senior fellow-in-residence, Post Carbon Inst.; Blackout: Coal, Climate, and the Last Energy Crisis) contends that new economic growth, the ostensible solution to the current global recession, is impossible to achieve. He argues that high levels of public and private debt make new borrowing (necessary to fund growth) difficult and that any deleveraging of the current debt would also inhibit growth. Discounting possible ameliorating effects of efficiency and innovation, Heinberg warns that the increasing scarcity and cost of energy, water, food, and minerals as well as the environment's fragile condition will be a further constraint on future growth. While he admits that isolated growth has continued to occur, he believes that even fast-growing economies like China's will ultimately slow. He cautions that an end to growth portends heightened geopolitical and demographic competition but offers hope that the world can build a new economy based on sustainability and self-restraint. VERDICT Clearly written and argued with excellent graphs and taking account of recent events, Heinberg's contrarian view on growth is highly recommended to all readers interested in economics, sustainability, and future trends.—Lawrence Maxted, Gannon Univ. Lib., Erie, PA

Product Details

BN ID:	2940170717170
Publisher:	Tantor Audio
Publication date:	12/30/2011
Edition description:	Unabridged

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