Paper assets, real debts: An ecological‐economic exploration of the global economic crisis
Critical Perspectives on International Business
ISSN: 1742-2043
Article publication date: 10 April 2009
Abstract
Purpose
This paper sets out to investigate the potential contribution of the inter‐disciplinary field of ecological economics to the explanation of the current economic crisis. The root of the crisis is the growing disjuncture between the real economy of production and the paper economy of finance.
Design/methodology/approach
The authors trace the epistemological origins of this disjuncture to the myths of economism – a mix of academic, popular and political beliefs that served to explain, rationalise and perpetuate the current economic system.
Findings
The authors recommend ending with economism and developing new collective and discursive processes for understanding and engaging with ecological‐economic systems.
Originality/value
The authors embrace the notion of sustainable de‐growth: an equitable and democratic transition to a smaller economy with less production and consumption.
Keywords
Citation
Kallis, G., Martinez‐Alier, J. and Norgaard, R.B. (2009), "Paper assets, real debts: An ecological‐economic exploration of the global economic crisis", Critical Perspectives on International Business, Vol. 5 No. 1/2, pp. 14-25. https://doi.org/10.1108/17422040910938659
Publisher
:Emerald Group Publishing Limited
Copyright © 2009, Emerald Group Publishing Limited