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‘Born in the corridors of the OECD’: the forgotten origins of the Club of Rome, transnational networks, and the 1970s in global history

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  • Schmelzer, Matthias

Abstract

This article re-examines a contested chapter in the international and environmental history of the 1970s. Even though largely neglected by historical research and in the public memory, the Club of Rome – widely remembered for its 1972 report The limits to growth – was not only born within the OECD, but was also in its early period strongly influenced by debates within this think tank of the industrialized countries. Using previously overlooked sources, this article analyses this highly unlikely OECD–Club of Rome nexus. It not only offers a privileged view into the social history of international policy-making and the related personal entanglements and ideological transfers at a key moment of post-war history. It also demonstrates that the social, intellectual, and economic turmoil of the late 1960s prompted a rethinking of the economic growth paradigm, even within those technocratic institutions that had aspired to guide the post-war industrial growth regime. The article argues that these links are not only vital for our understanding of the relationship between acquisitive growth capitalism and environmentalism, but also enable a more profound understanding of the role of transnational networks in global history and the appreciation of the place of the 1970s in world history.

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  • Schmelzer, Matthias, 2017. "‘Born in the corridors of the OECD’: the forgotten origins of the Club of Rome, transnational networks, and the 1970s in global history," Journal of Global History, Cambridge University Press, vol. 12(1), pages 26-48, March.
  • Handle: RePEc:cup:jglhis:v:12:y:2017:i:01:p:26-48_00
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    Cited by:

    1. Bloebaum, Anke & Schmidt, Karolin & Böcher, Michael & Arlinghaus, Julia & Krause, Friederike & Matthies, Ellen, 2024. "Overcoming heuristics that hinder people’s acceptance of climate-change-mitigation technologies," OSF Preprints dqt4u, Center for Open Science.
    2. Jacopo Bonasera, 2022. "Un-Common Nature. Neo-malthusian Environmentalism before 1972 UN Stockholm Conference," Annals of the Fondazione Luigi Einaudi. An Interdisciplinary Journal of Economics, History and Political Science, Fondazione Luigi Einaudi, Torino (Italy), vol. 56(2), pages 7-26, December.
    3. Leonardi, Emanuele, 2019. "Bringing Class Analysis Back in: Assessing the Transformation of the Value-Nature Nexus to Strengthen the Connection Between Degrowth and Environmental Justice," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 156(C), pages 83-90.

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