Abstract
In the orthodox tradition economic systems are normally thought of, following Robbins, as systems for allocating scarce resources. They are better thought of as systems for extracting and transforming natural resources, circulating them through more or less organized human societies, and dumping the waste. The difference between the two definitions represents a choice between heuristic boundaries. The latter definition sets the boundaries in such a way that our continuity with natural processes, and our utter dependence on them, is emphasized. This makes it decisively better than the former. Economies become aspects of ecosystems, reminding us of our inescapable place within the biota of the earth.1
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Dyke, C. (1994). From Entropy to Economy: A Thorny Path. In: Burley, P., Foster, J. (eds) Economics and Thermodynamics. Recent Economic Thought Series, vol 38. Springer, Dordrecht. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-015-8269-8_12
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-015-8269-8_12
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