The Environmental Debate

Abstract

Although the environmental debate has been going on for more than thirty years, it is only now beginning to bear fruit. The flood of conflicting opinions it has generated makes the literature extremely difficult to summarize. It includes the full range of arguments which are brought to bear on social issues of any kind. A middle way needs to be found between the views of those who dismiss the problem as insignificant and those who see it as our sole legitimate concern. An initial framework for this debate can be provided by economic theory, which will also draw our attention to the very aspects it glosses over. This brings us back to the reservations expressed earlier with regard to methodology, basic assumptions and instruments. However, our discussion of the concept of productivity has raised another, more fundamental doubt regarding the whole purpose of economics as expressed by neoclassical theory. However, neoclassical theory remains an irreplaceable yardstick and will therefore serve to guide our approach in this chapter.