IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/eee/ecolec/v84y2012icp84-90.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Utopias and realism in ecological economics — Knowledge, understanding and improvisation

Author

Listed:
  • Ingebrigtsen, Stig
  • Jakobsen, Ove

Abstract

“What we are going through at the present time is not just an economic-financial crisis, but a crisis of humanity” (Max-Neef, 2010, p. 200). Despite problems within it, it is ecological economics which is now emerging as the most potent opponent to neo-classical economics. “It is ecological economics which addresses the most profound failure of neoclassical economics, the failure to deal adequately with resource depletion and environmental destruction both locally and globally” (Costanca, 1991). The complex challenges are anchored in a deep conflict between mainstream economics and the natural and social conditions, to harmonize this connection it would seem necessary to develop a valid understanding of the interconnectedness between economy, nature and society. The idea behind this article is four-fold. Firstly, we describe and discuss the ontological worldview in ecological economics. Secondly, the epistemological consequences of the ontological preconditions are discussed. Thirdly, some of the main concepts and principles in ecological economics are focused on. Fourthly, we discuss the realism of radical solutions in ecological economics.

Suggested Citation

  • Ingebrigtsen, Stig & Jakobsen, Ove, 2012. "Utopias and realism in ecological economics — Knowledge, understanding and improvisation," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 84(C), pages 84-90.
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:ecolec:v:84:y:2012:i:c:p:84-90
    DOI: 10.1016/j.ecolecon.2012.09.015
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0921800912003771
    Download Restriction: Full text for ScienceDirect subscribers only
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1016/j.ecolecon.2012.09.015?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    As the access to this document is restricted, you may want to search for a different version of it.

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Jahn, Thomas & Bergmann, Matthias & Keil, Florian, 2012. "Transdisciplinarity: Between mainstreaming and marginalization," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 79(C), pages 1-10.
    2. Spash, Clive L., 2012. "New foundations for ecological economics," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 77(C), pages 36-47.
    3. Max-Neef, Manfred A., 2005. "Foundations of transdisciplinarity," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 53(1), pages 5-16, April.
    4. Herman E. Daly, 2007. "Ecological Economics and Sustainable Development, Selected Essays of Herman Daly," Books, Edward Elgar Publishing, number 12606.
    5. Ingebrigtsen, Stig & Jakobsen, Ove, 2009. "Moral development of the economic actor," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 68(11), pages 2777-2784, September.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

    RePEc Biblio mentions

    As found on the RePEc Biblio, the curated bibliography for Economics:
    1. > Schools of Economic Thought, Epistemology of Economics > Heterodox Approaches > Ecological Economics

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. Valentinov, Vladislav, 2014. "K. William Kapp's theory of social costs: A Luhmannian interpretation," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 97(C), pages 28-33.
    2. Király, Gábor & Köves, Alexandra, 2023. "Facing finitude: Death-awareness and sustainable transitions," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 205(C).
    3. Natalia Molina Cetrulo & Tiago Balieiro Cetrulo & Sylmara Lopes Francelino Goncalves-Dias & Rodrigo Martins Moreira, 2018. "Waste Management and Sustainability: Indicators under Ecological Economy Perspective," Journal of Management and Sustainability, Canadian Center of Science and Education, vol. 8(1), pages 20-30, March.
    4. Nhu Tuyên Lê & Marjolijn Bloemmen & Roxana Bobulescu & Claudio Vitari, 2015. "Microeconomic degrowth: The case of Community Supported Agriculture," Post-Print halshs-01923276, HAL.
    5. Mair, Simon & Druckman, Angela & Jackson, Tim, 2020. "A tale of two utopias: Work in a post-growth world," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 173(C).
    6. Bloemmen, Marjolijn & Bobulescu, Roxana & Le, Nhu Tuyen & Vitari, Claudio, 2015. "Microeconomic degrowth: The case of Community Supported Agriculture," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 112(C), pages 110-115.
    7. Nhu Tuyên Lê & Marjolijn Bloemmen & Roxana Bobulescu & Claudio Vitari, 2015. "Microeconomic degrowth: The case of Community Supported Agriculture," Grenoble Ecole de Management (Post-Print) halshs-01923276, HAL.

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Lundgren, Jakob, 2022. "Unity through disunity: Strengths, values, and tensions in the disciplinary discourse of ecological economics," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 191(C).
    2. Remig, Moritz C., 2015. "Unraveling the veil of fuzziness: A thick description of sustainability economics," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 109(C), pages 194-202.
    3. Carbajo, Ruth & Cabeza, Luisa F., 2018. "Renewable energy research and technologies through responsible research and innovation looking glass: Reflexions, theoretical approaches and contemporary discourses," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 211(C), pages 792-808.
    4. Brennan, Michael & Rondón-Sulbarán, Janeet, 2019. "Transdisciplinary research: Exploring impact, knowledge and quality in the early stages of a sustainable development project," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 122(C), pages 481-491.
    5. Dube, Benjamin, 2021. "Why cross and mix disciplines and methodologies?: Multiple meanings of Interdisciplinarity and pluralism in ecological economics," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 179(C).
    6. Clive L. Spash, 2019. "Time for a Paradigm Shift: From Economic Growth and Price-Making Markets to Social Ecological Economics," SRE-Disc sre-disc-2019_07, Institute for Multilevel Governance and Development, Department of Socioeconomics, Vienna University of Economics and Business.
    7. Farrell, Katharine N. & Silva-Macher, Jose Carlos, 2017. "Exploring Futures for Amazonia's Sierra del Divisor: An Environmental Valuation Triadics Approach to Analyzing Ecological Economic Decision Choices in the Context of Major Shifts in Boundary Condition," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 141(C), pages 166-179.
    8. Lo, Alex, 2014. "The Problem of Methodological Pluralism in Ecological Economics," MPRA Paper 49543, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    9. Spash, Clive L., 2020. "A tale of three paradigms: Realising the revolutionary potential of ecological economics," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 169(C).
    10. Levine, Jordan & Chan, Kai M.A. & Satterfield, Terre, 2015. "From rational actor to efficient complexity manager: Exorcising the ghost of Homo economicus with a unified synthesis of cognition research," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 114(C), pages 22-32.
    11. Nhu Tuyên Lê & Marjolijn Bloemmen & Roxana Bobulescu & Claudio Vitari, 2015. "Microeconomic degrowth: The case of Community Supported Agriculture," Grenoble Ecole de Management (Post-Print) halshs-01923276, HAL.
    12. Rauschmayer, Felix & Bauler, Tom & Schäpke, Niko, 2015. "Towards a thick understanding of sustainability transitions — Linking transition management, capabilities and social practices," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 109(C), pages 211-221.
    13. Alex Baumber, 2022. "Transforming sustainability education through transdisciplinary practice," Environment, Development and Sustainability: A Multidisciplinary Approach to the Theory and Practice of Sustainable Development, Springer, vol. 24(6), pages 7622-7639, June.
    14. Oliver Laasch & Dirk Moosmayer & Elena Antonacopoulou & Stefan Schaltegger, 2020. "Constellations of Transdisciplinary Practices: A Map and Research Agenda for the Responsible Management Learning Field," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 162(4), pages 735-757, April.
    15. Melgar-Melgar, Rigo E. & Hall, Charles A.S., 2020. "Why ecological economics needs to return to its roots: The biophysical foundation of socio-economic systems," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 169(C).
    16. Nhu Tuyên Lê & Marjolijn Bloemmen & Roxana Bobulescu & Claudio Vitari, 2015. "Microeconomic degrowth: The case of Community Supported Agriculture," Post-Print halshs-01923276, HAL.
    17. Diego Subercaseaux & Ana I. Moreno-Calles & Marta Astier & José de Jesús Hernández L., 2021. "Emerging Agro-Rural Complexities in Occident Mexico: Approach from Sustainability Science and Transdisciplinarity," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(6), pages 1-28, March.
    18. Ana Guzmán Ruiz & Meredith Dobbie & Rebekah Brown, 2017. "Insights and future directions of transdisciplinary practice in the urban water sector," Journal of Environmental Studies and Sciences, Springer;Association of Environmental Studies and Sciences, vol. 7(2), pages 251-263, June.
    19. Jonas Christensen & Nils Ekelund & Margareta Melin & Pär Widén, 2021. "The Beautiful Risk of Collaborative and Interdisciplinary Research. A Challenging Collaborative and Critical Approach toward Sustainable Learning Processes in Academic Profession," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(9), pages 1-20, April.
    20. Elke Pirgmaier & Julia K. Steinberger, 2019. "Roots, Riots, and Radical Change—A Road Less Travelled for Ecological Economics," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 11(7), pages 1-18, April.

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:eee:ecolec:v:84:y:2012:i:c:p:84-90. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Catherine Liu (email available below). General contact details of provider: http://www.elsevier.com/locate/ecolecon .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.