Herman E. Daly: Steady-State Economics

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PLOWBOY: What other forms could the fundamental crisis take?

DALY: Well, we were nearly "2 X 4’ d” by the accident at Harrisburg's Three Mile Island. A full meltdown would have had quite a shock effect—to say the least—and would have undercut a whole lot of the influence that "happy technologists" have in furthering growth. On the other hand, perhaps a single major metropolitan area might have a severe local breakdown. Big cities are especially vulnerable to crises because of their large populations and interdependent systems.

No matter what, though, we're sure to see accelerated inflation. We're in for a long, sustained inflationary period ... as one result of trying to live beyond our biophysical budget.

PLOWBOY: The future under our growth economy certainly doesn't sound good. But some folks might look at all the restrictions inherent in a steady-state economy and think that system doesn't sound too good, either.

The shortest and straightest route to a strict totalitarian dictatorship is our push toward a nuclear-powered 'plutonium economy'.

DALY: The steady-state society will require some reduction in freedom, compared to what we have known in the recent past, but you have to look elsewhere to make a relevant comparison. The future steady state should be compared with the future growth economy. In the past—during the era of industrial boom and the open frontier—it was just plain easier to have a lot of freedom than it's going to be in the future whether we have either a steady-state or a forced-growth economy.

But the possibilities for retaining as much individual freedom as possible are a lot better in the steady-state system than in an economy where big government would have to keep trying to force growth in the face of encroaching natural limits.

An overpopulated and overconsuming community that is pressing the carrying capacity of its global ecosystems would —for its own survival—have to come under the authority of a controlling power. And the less of that control its citizens could find within themselves, the more the regulation would have to come from without. That need for external restraints could lead us directly to a strict totalitarian state . . . and—without a doubt—the shortest and straightest route to such a dictatorship is our present push toward a nuclear-powered "plutonium economy".

PLOWBOY: What would life in a steady-state system be like?

DALY: Well, life on such a budget might actually turn out to be nicer than it is now. Today, Americans are dying more from the stresses of abundance than from the diseases of scarcity. In fact—because folks often feel they have to balance their work hours with "productive" and "efficient" leisure—people even turn their hurried, crammed-in spare time into another area of stress!

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