The Limits to Growth

The 30-year update

Author Donella Meadows, Jorgen Randers & Dennis Meadows Year 2004 Publisher Chesea Green Publishing City White River Junction

In the third version of the original book—the limits to growth, published in 1972—the same authors reassert that humanity is still on track to overshoot Earth’s physical limits during the 21st century. Utilising updated data to re-assess the original World3 modelling, the book presents ten potential future scenarios. Further to this, the authors offer insights into actions that could prevent or minimise global collapse from overshoot. These actions range from technological invitation to personal lifestyle changes and governmental policy. In particular, the book is critical of the disparity in energy equality between the global north and south—not only must wealthy nations reduce consumption, but they must also make room for poor nations to grow whilst still returning global consumption to sustainable limits.

This book goes against the basic pretexts of growth capitalism and has thus always been controversial. It does not forecast a popular future based on current societal values. Therefore, political parties have never engaged with policies that would deal with the limits illustrated in the book—it would be political suicide. The authors assert:

‘we are much more pessimistic about the global future than we were in 1972. It is a sad fact that humanity has largely squandered the past 30 years in futile debates and well-intentioned, but halfhearted, responses to the global ecological challenge. We do not have another 30 years to dither. Much will have to change if the ongoing overshoot is not to be followed by collapse during the 21st century’. (2004, p. xvi)

Whilst the authors are somewhat sceptical of humanities future, they do off some hope and guidance in navigating the future.

This book is the primary source for my thesis. It is the basis of almost all degrowth literature for the past