Podcast appearances and mentions of Kenneth E Boulding

On this episode, Chris Coyne and Peter Boettke explore the life and legacy of economist Kenneth E. Boulding, Boettke's former professor and mentor. Boettke recalls his experiences in Boulding's Great Books in Economics course and their conversations outside of class about peace, economics, and poetry. The conversation outlines Boulding's path from studying chemistry at Oxford and an unusually early publication in the Economic Journal to his formative time in Chicago with Frank Knight and his later academic years. Coyne and Boettke discuss why no “Boulding school” emerged, how Boulding's ideas can and are still inspiring new research on institutions, civil society, and peace, and more.This is the first episode in a short series of episodes that will feature a collection of authors who contributed to the volume 1, issue 2 of the Markets & Society Journal or to a forthcoming special issue from The Review of Austrian Economics. Dr. Peter J. Boettke is Director of the F.A. Hayek Program for Advanced Study in Philosophy, Politics, and Economics, the BB&T Professor for the Study of Capitalism at the Mercatus Center at George Mason University, and a Distinguished University Professor of Economics and Philosophy at George Mason University. He has published numerous books, including The Historical Path to Liberty and Human Progress (Universidad Francisco Marroquín Press, 2025) coauthored with Rosolino Candela, The Socialist Calculation Debate: Theory, History, and Contemporary Relevance (Cambridge University Press, 2024) coauthored with Rosolino Candela and Tegan Truitt, and The Struggle for a Better World (Mercatus Center, 2021).Show Notes:Kenneth Boulding's article, “After Samuelson, Who needs Smith?” (History of Political Economy, 1971)James Buchanan's article, “What Should Economists Do?” (SEJ, 1964)Frank Knight's article, “The Theory of Investment Once More: Mr. Boulding and the Austrians” (QJE, 1935)Kenneth Boulding's book, The Image (University of Michigan Press, 1969)Kenneth Boulding's AEA address, "Economics as a Moral Science" (The American Economic Review, 1969)Kenneth Boulding's book, Stable Peace (University of Texas Press, 1978)Kenneth Boulding's book, Three Faces of Power (SAGE Publications, 1990)Albert Hirschman's book, Exit, Voice, and Loyalty: Responses to Decline in Firms, Organizations, and States (Harvard University Press, 1972)Raghuram Rajan's book, The Third Pillar: How Markets and the State Leave the Community Behind (Penguin Press, 2020)Center for Research on Conflict ResolutionJournal of Conflict Resolution**This episode was recorded September 10, 2025.If you like the show, please subscribe, leave a 5-star review, and tell others about the show! We're available on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Amazon Music, and wherever you get your podcasts.Check out our other podcast from the Hayek Program! Virtual Sentiments is a podcast in which political theorist Kristen Collins interviews scholars and practitioners grappling with pressing problems in political economy with an eye to the past. Subscribe today!Follow the Hayek Program on Twitter: @HayekProgramFollow the Mercatus Center on Twitter: @mercatusCC Music: Twisterium

Mathis Wackernagel is my guest on Episode 99 of Inside Ideas with Marc Buckley. Mathis Wackernagel, Ph.D. co-created the Ecological Footprint in the early 1990s with his Ph.D. advisor Prof. Rees at the University of British Columbia. Now he is President of Global Footprint Network which he founded in 2003 with Susan Burns. Together with its partners, Global Footprint Network focuses on bringing about a sustainable economy in which all can thrive within the means of our one planet. Since 2003 this international think-tank has engaged with more than 50 nations, 30 cities, and 70 global partners to deliver scientific insights for policy and investment decisions. With their annual Earth Overshoot Day, they annually reach over 4 billion media impressions. Mathis' awards include the 2018 World Sustainability Award, the 2015 IAIA Global Environment Award, the 2012 Blue Planet Prize, the 2012 Binding-Prize for Nature Conservation, the 2012 Kenneth E. Boulding Memorial Award, the 2011 Zayed International Prize for the Environment, an honorary doctorate from the University of Berne, and the 2007 Skoll Award for Social Entrepreneurship. https://www.footprintnetwork.org/

Ich möchte mit dieser Episode anregen – vielleicht auch ein wenig provozierend – über Begriffe nachzudenken:  Natur Umwelt Umweltschutz Umwelt und Wirtschaft Anthropozän In welcher Form wir diese Begriffe interpretieren, stellt sich als fundamentale Weichenstellung heraus, wie wir mit unserer Zukunft umgehen. »Ich habe mich oft gefragt: 'Was sagte der letzte Bewohner der Osterinsel, der gerade dabei war, die letzte Palme zu fällen?' Schrie er wie moderne Holzfäller: 'Wir brauchen keine Bäume, sondern Arbeitsplätze!'? Oder sagte er: 'Die Technik wird unsere Probleme schon lösen, keine Angst, wir werden einen Ersatz für das Holz finden'? Oder vielleicht: 'Wir haben keinen Beweis, dass es nicht an anderen Stellen auf der Osterinsel noch Palmen gibt, wir brauchen mehr Forschung, der Vorschlag, das Abholzen zu verbieten, ist voreilig und reine Angstmacherei'?«, Jared Diamond Es macht auf sehr anschauliche Weise deutlich, wie sehr wir als Individuen auf die Probleme fokussiert sein können, die aus unserem Job, unserer Rolle in der Gesellschaft oder Wirtschaft entspringen. So fokussiert, dass wir völlig übersehen, dass wir durch den immer angestrengteren Versuch, unser Unternehmen, unsere Familie, unseren Staat aufrecht zu erhalten gerade die dafür notwendigen Fundamente zerstören.  In dieser Episode werden wir von Alexander von Humboldt hören: »Alles ist Wechselwirkung« und über das Verhältnis von Wirtschaft und Natur: »Naturmenschen und Menschen früher Zivilisationen lebten in der Vorstellung einer geradezu grenzenlosen Fläche. [...] Es gab immer einen anderen Platz, den man aufsuchen konnte, wenn die Dinge zu schwierig wurden; entweder weil die Umwelt oder die sozialen Strukturen im bisherigen Lebensraum zerstört wurden. […] Besonders Ökonomen sind größtenteils gescheitert mit den Konsequenzen dieses Übergangs von einer offenen zu einer geschlossenen Welt zurechtzukommen.«, Kenneth Boulding Was ist dieses – von Boulding, McLuhan und anderen eingeführte – »Spaceship Earth« (Raumschiff Erde), und wie kann es uns diese Idee weiterhelfen?   Die Erde photographiert von der Apollo 8 Mission (1968) Dann ist der Begriff der »Umwelt« an der Reihe. Macht dieser Begriff (und die traditionelle Umweltbewegung) heute überhaupt noch Sinn, oder verstellte er den Blick auf die Tatsache, dass wir in ein neues Erdzeitalter, das Anthropozän eingetreten sind und damit völlig neu über unser Verhältnis zur Welt nachzudenken haben? »Wir waren immer verrückt, aber wir hatten nicht die Fähigkeiten die Welt zu zerstören. Jetzt haben wir sie.«, Nassim Taleb Was wir angerichtet haben, fällt auf uns zurück. Niemand wird uns dabei helfen. »Die Natur ist nicht länger am Steuer des Planeten, wir sind es. Es liegt in unserer Hand, was passieren wird.«, Mark Lynas Was folgt aus dieser Aussage? Zunächst die Erkenntnis, dass ich in dieser Episode viele Türen öffne, viele Fragen aufwerfe und hoffe, zum Nachdenken und zur Diskussion anzuregen. In späteren Folgen, werde ich versuchen, verschiedene dieser Themen wieder aufzunehmen, auch in Gesprächen mit Gästen. Referenzen Jared Diamond, Kollaps, Warum Gesellschaften überleben oder untergehen, Fischer (2012) Andrea Wulf, Alexander von Humboldt und die Erfindung der Natur, C. Bertelsmann (2016) Kenneth E. Boulding, The Economics of the Coming Spaceship Earth; In H. Jarrett (ed.) 1966. Environmental Quality in a Growing Economy, pp. 3-14. Baltimore, MD: Resources for the Future/Johns Hopkins University Press. US Botschafter Adlai Stevenson bei einer UN-Ansprache im Jahr 1965 {Chris C. Park, The Environment, Psychology Press (2001)} Buckminster Fuller, Operating Manual for Spaceship Earth Club of Rom 1972: Grenzen des Wachstums The Anthropocene is functionally and stratigraphically distinct from the Holocene, Colin N. Waters et al., 8. Jan 2016 Nassim Taleb, Skin in the Game, Penguin (2018) Klaus Kornwachs, Philosophie der Technik, C.H.Beck Wissen (2013) Lars Fischer, Geoengineering – haben wir überhaupt noch eine Wahl?, SciLogs (2010) Mark Lynas, The God Species: How Humand Really Can Save the Planet  

Dr. Richard Norgaard is Professor Emeritus of Ecological Economics in the Energy and Resources Group at the University of California, Berkeley, environmental pioneer, and founding member and former president of the International Society for Ecological Economics. After receiving his PhD at the University of Chicago, where he studied with numerous economists who would later be awarded the Nobel Memorial Prize in Economic Sciences, he became a critic of free market fundamentalism and went on to found the field of ecological economics which he continues to lead today. His recent research addresses how environmental problems challenge scientific understanding and the policy process, how ecologists and economists understand systems differently, and the impact of globalization on environmental governance. A philosophical and eclectic thinker, Dr Norgaard received the Kenneth E. Boulding Memorial Award in 2006 for recognition of advancements in research combining social theory and the natural sciences –and for more than 40 years he has been a strong voice calling for introduction of values of spirituality, beauty and ecological boundaries into mainstream economics. He is the author of Development Betrayed: The End of Progress and a Co-evolutionary Revisioning of the Future, co-author or editor of three additional books, and has over 100 other publications spanning the fields of environment and development, tropical forestry and agriculture, environmental epistemology, energy economics, and ecological economics. He serves on the Board of Directors of the New Economics Institute, on scientific advisory boards to Tsinghua and Beijing Normal University, and on the Board of EcoEquity.   In this interview, Richard discusses the dichotomy between ecology and economics, how a kind of faith thinking underpins the economic system (economism), and the failure of neo-classical economics to adequately grasp environmental limits. He also touches on the limits of conventional economic measures and the need for an approach system to environmental issues that allows for effective global governance while respecting agency at the local level. A proud Californian, Richard also discusses his work in water stewardship for the California Delta independent science board and the danger of conservation's inherent bias towards the past in addressing the challenges posed by a changing climate. This is a rare opportunity to hear the latest views of a pioneering thinker who has had a major influence on how we think about ecological economics, raising profound questions about our understanding of economic progress and development. The post Episode 29: Interview with Dr Richard Norgaard, Professor Emeritus of Ecological Economics appeared first on The Sustainability Agenda.