Title: Saving the economic system

Authors: Martina Pfarrhofer

Addresses: Institute for Social and Economic History, Karl-Franzens University Graz, Universitätsstraße 15/E2, 8010 Graz, Austria

Abstract: The economic system is facing troubles and so are the human race and many other species. The differentiated economic system developed in a way that stands in contradiction to the ecological system. While the ecological system mostly functions in cycles, with flows and stocks of mass and energy, the economic system has been characterised by terms like unlimited growth and maximisation of profits for the last centuries. The differences between the systems lead to negative effects, e.g., climate change, which can no longer be ignored. This article displays some paths that could be taken to resolve the discrepancies by applying basic principles of systems theory by Niklas Luhmann. Systems theory allows thinking out of the box and this is what is needed to save the economic system as well as its surrounding.

Keywords: global studies; interdisciplinary; cycles; transdisciplinary; unlimited growth; ecological economics; transformation; solution paths.

DOI: 10.1504/IJFIP.2018.097088

International Journal of Foresight and Innovation Policy, 2018 Vol.13 No.3/4, pp.223 - 234

Received: 21 Aug 2017
Accepted: 25 Apr 2018
Published online: 18 Dec 2018 *

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