Historical Context of Ecological Economics

In the late 18th century, Adam Smith, David Ricardo and others articulated many of the basic market concepts that guide economic policy today. When Smith and Ricardo lived, the population of the Earth was around 700 million people. The Industrial Revolution was just beginning. Natural capital was abundant while human-produced capital was relatively scarce. The science of ecology did not exist. Slavery was still legal.

Today's human population exceeds six billion people. Science has revealed much about human dependence on ecological systems, as well as our lack of understanding of these systems and ability to destroy them. Human-produced capital is relatively plentiful while natural capital is increasingly scarce. The goals of sustainability, equity, justice, and good governance have emerged.

The multidisciplinary field of ecological economics was created to address these goals and to create solutions, focusing on the health and well-being of people, ecosystems, the economy and future generations.