François Quesnay (1694 - 1774)
The founder of Physiocracy—the first reality-based economic school of thought. He analyzed the relationship between wealth, land, and solar energy. In his work, Tableau économique (1758), he set forth a physical framework for analyzing the production and distribution of wealth that conformed to the physical world.
The founder of Physiocracy—the first reality-based economic school of thought. He analyzed the relationship between wealth, land, and solar energy. In his work, Tableau économique (1758), he set forth a physical framework for analyzing the production and distribution of wealth that conformed to the physical world.
Erasmus Peshine Smith (1814 - 1882)
“In short, food consumed in the human body produces motion, just as does the coal consumed in a steam-engine. A given quantity of food and a given quantity of coal, are equally incapable of producing more than a fixed quantity of motion or force....Engineers inform us that there is virtue in a bushel of coals, properly consumed, to raise seventy millions of pounds a foot high….Since the steam-engine was devised, we look at it in the concrete, and attribute power to the machine, whereas the machine is passive, the mere theatre and vehicle of power existing from the foundation of the world.”
A Manual on Political Economy (1853), Page 73-77
“In short, food consumed in the human body produces motion, just as does the coal consumed in a steam-engine. A given quantity of food and a given quantity of coal, are equally incapable of producing more than a fixed quantity of motion or force....Engineers inform us that there is virtue in a bushel of coals, properly consumed, to raise seventy millions of pounds a foot high….Since the steam-engine was devised, we look at it in the concrete, and attribute power to the machine, whereas the machine is passive, the mere theatre and vehicle of power existing from the foundation of the world.”
A Manual on Political Economy (1853), Page 73-77
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William Stanley Jevons (1835 - 1882)
“I do not know why this nation should not go on rising to a pitch of greatness as inconceivable now as our present position would have been inconceivable a century ago. I believe that our industrial and political genius and energy, used with honesty, are equal to anything. It is only our gross material resources which are limited. Here is a definite cause why we cannot always advance.”
The Coal Question (1866 – 2nd Edition), Page 5
“I do not know why this nation should not go on rising to a pitch of greatness as inconceivable now as our present position would have been inconceivable a century ago. I believe that our industrial and political genius and energy, used with honesty, are equal to anything. It is only our gross material resources which are limited. Here is a definite cause why we cannot always advance.”
The Coal Question (1866 – 2nd Edition), Page 5
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Frederick Soddy (1870 – 1958); Nobel Laureate of Chemistry (1921)
"Debts are subject to the laws of mathematics rather than physics. Unlike wealth, which is subject to the laws of thermodynamics, debts do not rot with old age and are not consumed in the process of living. On the contrary, they grow at so much per cent per annum....It is this underlying confusion between wealth and debt which has made such a tragedy of the scientific era."
Wealth, Virtual Wealth, and Debt (1933), Chapter IV, Page 79
"Debts are subject to the laws of mathematics rather than physics. Unlike wealth, which is subject to the laws of thermodynamics, debts do not rot with old age and are not consumed in the process of living. On the contrary, they grow at so much per cent per annum....It is this underlying confusion between wealth and debt which has made such a tragedy of the scientific era."
Wealth, Virtual Wealth, and Debt (1933), Chapter IV, Page 79
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Marion King Hubbert (1903 – 1989)
“This leads us to consider what physical limitations there may be upon the various types of energy whose expansion we have noted. In the case of the fossil fuels the answer is simple. As remarked before, these fuels represent an accumulation over 500 million years of geologic time, and any additional accumulation that may be expected within the next 10,000 years is negligible. When these fuels are burned, their material content remains upon the earth in a relatively useless form, but the precious energy, after undergoing a sequence of degradations, finally leaves the earth as spent, long-wavelength, low-temperature radiation. Hence, we deal with an essentially fixed storehouse of energy which we are drawing upon at a phenomenal rate.”
Energy from Fossil Fuels, Science (Volume 109 Number 2823; 2/4/1949)
“This leads us to consider what physical limitations there may be upon the various types of energy whose expansion we have noted. In the case of the fossil fuels the answer is simple. As remarked before, these fuels represent an accumulation over 500 million years of geologic time, and any additional accumulation that may be expected within the next 10,000 years is negligible. When these fuels are burned, their material content remains upon the earth in a relatively useless form, but the precious energy, after undergoing a sequence of degradations, finally leaves the earth as spent, long-wavelength, low-temperature radiation. Hence, we deal with an essentially fixed storehouse of energy which we are drawing upon at a phenomenal rate.”
Energy from Fossil Fuels, Science (Volume 109 Number 2823; 2/4/1949)
Charles A.S. Hall
Professor Emeritus at the College of Environmental Science and Forestry at the State University of New York
“I do not know anything in the universe that breaks the laws of thermodynamics, except in the minds of economists….If you are a real, trained, rigorous, biophysical scientist or engineer, I challenge you to look at how economics operates and tell me whether it’s consistent with your knowledge.” (Lecture from June 11, 2016)
While earning his Ph.D. in ecology at the University of North Carolina under the supervision of Howard Odum, he calculated that for every calorie a salmon invests in migration—its progeny would be able to utilize at least four calories. This illustrates his concept of Energy Return on Energy Invested (EROEI). He is widely recognized as establishing the modern discipline of biophysical economics. His website is http://www.esf.edu/EFB/hall. And here is a link to one of his lectures: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YwdwUStzxww.
Professor Emeritus at the College of Environmental Science and Forestry at the State University of New York
“I do not know anything in the universe that breaks the laws of thermodynamics, except in the minds of economists….If you are a real, trained, rigorous, biophysical scientist or engineer, I challenge you to look at how economics operates and tell me whether it’s consistent with your knowledge.” (Lecture from June 11, 2016)
While earning his Ph.D. in ecology at the University of North Carolina under the supervision of Howard Odum, he calculated that for every calorie a salmon invests in migration—its progeny would be able to utilize at least four calories. This illustrates his concept of Energy Return on Energy Invested (EROEI). He is widely recognized as establishing the modern discipline of biophysical economics. His website is http://www.esf.edu/EFB/hall. And here is a link to one of his lectures: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YwdwUStzxww.
Robert Gordon
Professor of Economics at Northwestern University
“There was virtually no economic growth in human societies for millennia until the Industrial Revolution began around 1770. Growth began at a slow pace from 1770 to 1870, then—fueled by a unique clustering of what I call “the Great Inventions,” principal among which were electricity and the internal combustion engine—became remarkably rapid in the century ending in 1970.” (American Growth Has Slowed Down: Get Used to It; Politico Magazine, September 2016)
Professor Gordon's website is: http://www.economics.weinberg.northwestern.edu/robert-gordon/
Professor of Economics at Northwestern University
“There was virtually no economic growth in human societies for millennia until the Industrial Revolution began around 1770. Growth began at a slow pace from 1770 to 1870, then—fueled by a unique clustering of what I call “the Great Inventions,” principal among which were electricity and the internal combustion engine—became remarkably rapid in the century ending in 1970.” (American Growth Has Slowed Down: Get Used to It; Politico Magazine, September 2016)
Professor Gordon's website is: http://www.economics.weinberg.northwestern.edu/robert-gordon/
Gail Tverberg
“If an economist views the period between World War II and 1970 as normal in terms of what to expect in the future, he/she is likely to be misled. The period of rapid energy growth following World War II is not likely to be repeated. The rapid energy growth allowed much manual work to be performed by machine (for example, using a back hoe instead of digging ditches by hand). Thus, there appeared to be considerable growth in human efficiency, but such growth is not likely to be repeated in the future.” (March 12, 2012). Gail's website, ourfiniteworld.com, is dedicated to Exploring how oil limits affect the economy.
“If an economist views the period between World War II and 1970 as normal in terms of what to expect in the future, he/she is likely to be misled. The period of rapid energy growth following World War II is not likely to be repeated. The rapid energy growth allowed much manual work to be performed by machine (for example, using a back hoe instead of digging ditches by hand). Thus, there appeared to be considerable growth in human efficiency, but such growth is not likely to be repeated in the future.” (March 12, 2012). Gail's website, ourfiniteworld.com, is dedicated to Exploring how oil limits affect the economy.
Steve Keen
Professor of Economics
“Economic theory has ignored the role of energy as a factor of production right since Adam Smith. And this to me has led to enormous fallacies in economics. I’m not just talking neoclassical, I’m talking Marxist theory as well and to some extent, post-Keynesian theory—certainly Austrian theory. Their theories of production assume we can produce output with no energy. Now that’s nonsense. You can produce nothing without energy. And what we produce is really mining the energy and turning a fraction of it into goods and services while the rest is waste energy—which we call entropy. So we need to have a model of production that gives energy a central role….Labor without energy is a corpse and capital without energy is a sculpture.” (interview from December 21, 2017 on macrovoices.com).
Steve is one of a handful of economists to be recognized for having forecast the 2008 crash and is an expert on the role of money and debt in the economy. His latest book is Can We Avoid Another Financial Crisis?. His website is debtdeflation.com
Professor of Economics
“Economic theory has ignored the role of energy as a factor of production right since Adam Smith. And this to me has led to enormous fallacies in economics. I’m not just talking neoclassical, I’m talking Marxist theory as well and to some extent, post-Keynesian theory—certainly Austrian theory. Their theories of production assume we can produce output with no energy. Now that’s nonsense. You can produce nothing without energy. And what we produce is really mining the energy and turning a fraction of it into goods and services while the rest is waste energy—which we call entropy. So we need to have a model of production that gives energy a central role….Labor without energy is a corpse and capital without energy is a sculpture.” (interview from December 21, 2017 on macrovoices.com).
Steve is one of a handful of economists to be recognized for having forecast the 2008 crash and is an expert on the role of money and debt in the economy. His latest book is Can We Avoid Another Financial Crisis?. His website is debtdeflation.com
George Mobus
Former Professor of Computer Science at the University of Washington
“Biophysical economics started from the standpoint of the scientific approach to work, production of wealth, and the distribution of that wealth based on the flow of energy. If you think about it, and this is not a common way of thinking about it, but literally everything that we do—so the whole economy, is ultimately based on work—physical work. And work, by definition, requires energy. So energy is the fundamental backdrop against which all economic activity occurs.”
Interview with financialsense.com (4/15/2016). His website is questioneverything.typepad.com.
Former Professor of Computer Science at the University of Washington
“Biophysical economics started from the standpoint of the scientific approach to work, production of wealth, and the distribution of that wealth based on the flow of energy. If you think about it, and this is not a common way of thinking about it, but literally everything that we do—so the whole economy, is ultimately based on work—physical work. And work, by definition, requires energy. So energy is the fundamental backdrop against which all economic activity occurs.”
Interview with financialsense.com (4/15/2016). His website is questioneverything.typepad.com.
Michael Kumhof
Senior Research Advisor, Bank of England
“The entire economics literature that you see out there today will tell you that the function of banks is intermediation; taking the money from granny, putting it in there, storing it up. And then when somebody comes in and needs it, I can lend it out to them. That is complete nonsense….Banks do not need to attract deposits before they lend money. Rather they create deposits out of nowhere in the act of lending. I’m a former bank manager. I worked for Barclays Bank for five years. I’ve created those book entries. That is how it works. And if a leading light economist like Paul Krugman tries to tell you otherwise—he does not know what he is talking about.” (“Financial reform for a sustainable economy” from January 28, 2013; https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YnAtHbDptj8). His website is: http://michaelkumhof.weebly.com
Senior Research Advisor, Bank of England
“The entire economics literature that you see out there today will tell you that the function of banks is intermediation; taking the money from granny, putting it in there, storing it up. And then when somebody comes in and needs it, I can lend it out to them. That is complete nonsense….Banks do not need to attract deposits before they lend money. Rather they create deposits out of nowhere in the act of lending. I’m a former bank manager. I worked for Barclays Bank for five years. I’ve created those book entries. That is how it works. And if a leading light economist like Paul Krugman tries to tell you otherwise—he does not know what he is talking about.” (“Financial reform for a sustainable economy” from January 28, 2013; https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YnAtHbDptj8). His website is: http://michaelkumhof.weebly.com
Warren Mosler
Engineer, Banker, Economist, and founder of Molser Automotive
Warren is one of the most prominent proponents of Modern Monetary Theory—or MMT.
"As a simple point of logic, government has to spend first and then collect taxes. It has to spend first and then borrow. Otherwise how are the dollars to pay taxes and to lend to the government going to be out there. It’s like the football stadium—it doesn’t collect the tickets first and then sell them. Anybody who issues anything has to get it out there first and then collect it. Where the users, all the other people, they have to get the dollars first before they can spend them…. [Interviewer: So the Federal Reserve merely acts as a score keeper?] Right. So if we are all in a card game and I am the score keeper, how many points do I have? Well I don’t have any points. Well then how do I give you a hundred? I just write them down. Do I have fewer points after I give you a hundred? No. So the Federal Reserve is an agent of Congress. The Treasury and the Fed are both agents of Congress and the Federal Reserve is the score keeper for the dollar. When they spend they just credit an account. They write the number down and the account gets larger—which Chairman Bernanke has told us many times.” (2013 interview here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JGuNpqYBkZk).
His website is moslereconomics.com
Engineer, Banker, Economist, and founder of Molser Automotive
Warren is one of the most prominent proponents of Modern Monetary Theory—or MMT.
"As a simple point of logic, government has to spend first and then collect taxes. It has to spend first and then borrow. Otherwise how are the dollars to pay taxes and to lend to the government going to be out there. It’s like the football stadium—it doesn’t collect the tickets first and then sell them. Anybody who issues anything has to get it out there first and then collect it. Where the users, all the other people, they have to get the dollars first before they can spend them…. [Interviewer: So the Federal Reserve merely acts as a score keeper?] Right. So if we are all in a card game and I am the score keeper, how many points do I have? Well I don’t have any points. Well then how do I give you a hundred? I just write them down. Do I have fewer points after I give you a hundred? No. So the Federal Reserve is an agent of Congress. The Treasury and the Fed are both agents of Congress and the Federal Reserve is the score keeper for the dollar. When they spend they just credit an account. They write the number down and the account gets larger—which Chairman Bernanke has told us many times.” (2013 interview here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JGuNpqYBkZk).
His website is moslereconomics.com
Michael Hudson
Professor of Economics, University of Missouri - Kansas City
“What makes classical economics more insightful than today’s mainstream orthodoxy is its focus on wealth ownership and the special privileges used to extract income without producing a corresponding value of product or service. Most inequality does not reflect differing levels of productivity, but distortions resulting from property rights and other special privileges….[B]anks receive as mortgage interest the rental income formerly paid to landlords. The financial sector has replaced land ownership as the most important rentier sector; today’s post-industrial aristocracy.” Killing the Host: How Financial Parasites and Debt Destroy the Global Economy (2015), Pg. 43
Professor of Economics, University of Missouri - Kansas City
“What makes classical economics more insightful than today’s mainstream orthodoxy is its focus on wealth ownership and the special privileges used to extract income without producing a corresponding value of product or service. Most inequality does not reflect differing levels of productivity, but distortions resulting from property rights and other special privileges….[B]anks receive as mortgage interest the rental income formerly paid to landlords. The financial sector has replaced land ownership as the most important rentier sector; today’s post-industrial aristocracy.” Killing the Host: How Financial Parasites and Debt Destroy the Global Economy (2015), Pg. 43
Alice Friedemann
Alice is a systems engineer with a twenty-two year career at American President Lines—where she helped create the computer systems used to coordinate intermodal shipments. She now analyzes and writes about the important role that energy plays in the real economy. Her latest book is When Trucks Stop Running: Energy and The Future of Transportation.
Her website is energyskeptic.com.
Alice is a systems engineer with a twenty-two year career at American President Lines—where she helped create the computer systems used to coordinate intermodal shipments. She now analyzes and writes about the important role that energy plays in the real economy. Her latest book is When Trucks Stop Running: Energy and The Future of Transportation.
Her website is energyskeptic.com.
Richard Heinberg
Senior Fellow, Post Carbon Institute
“Imagine pushing your car 20 or 30 miles. How much work would that be? Well, depending on the size of the person and the size of the car, let’s say eight weeks of hard labor. But we get that done for us routinely by a single gallon of gasoline.... But think about that—the equivalent of eight weeks of hard human labor for three or four dollars. That’s incredibly cheap energy. And that’s what has encouraged us and enabled us to mechanize almost every process of production and transport….In effect, we discovered buried treasure and we went on a spending spree. And we’re still on it….[But] fossil fuels are finite in quantity….So as we dig them out of the ground and burn them, there’s less left for future generations.” (“Why Energy, Debt, and Climate Spell the End of Economic Growth” lecture from 2014; https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=po5PaVHmVdU).
Senior Fellow, Post Carbon Institute
“Imagine pushing your car 20 or 30 miles. How much work would that be? Well, depending on the size of the person and the size of the car, let’s say eight weeks of hard labor. But we get that done for us routinely by a single gallon of gasoline.... But think about that—the equivalent of eight weeks of hard human labor for three or four dollars. That’s incredibly cheap energy. And that’s what has encouraged us and enabled us to mechanize almost every process of production and transport….In effect, we discovered buried treasure and we went on a spending spree. And we’re still on it….[But] fossil fuels are finite in quantity….So as we dig them out of the ground and burn them, there’s less left for future generations.” (“Why Energy, Debt, and Climate Spell the End of Economic Growth” lecture from 2014; https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=po5PaVHmVdU).
Douglas Rushkoff
Professor of Media Theory and Digital Economics at the City University of New York
His latest book is Throwing Rocks at the Google Bus: How Growth Became the Enemy of Prosperity. He operates the podcast Team Human. He presents a compelling framework for analyzing so-called tech stocks that also seems indicative of the stock market at large.
Professor of Media Theory and Digital Economics at the City University of New York
His latest book is Throwing Rocks at the Google Bus: How Growth Became the Enemy of Prosperity. He operates the podcast Team Human. He presents a compelling framework for analyzing so-called tech stocks that also seems indicative of the stock market at large.
Tan Liu
Economist, Author, and Statistician
Tan presents a very compelling financial and legal analysis of the U.S. stock market and concludes that many of the biggest companies that are publicly traded are not equity investments per se but actually ponzi schemes--because the only way for a current stock holder to get their money back is to sell that stock to a new investor for more than the initial investor paid for it. He gives the examples of Google and Amazon. These are two stocks that pay no dividends even though they make a profit. And in the case of Google, the vast majority of stock holders have no voting rights. Hence the only way an "investor" in Google or Amazon can get their money back is through new "investors." His complete analysis is expounded in his book The Ponzi Factor: The Simple Truth About Investment Profits.
Economist, Author, and Statistician
Tan presents a very compelling financial and legal analysis of the U.S. stock market and concludes that many of the biggest companies that are publicly traded are not equity investments per se but actually ponzi schemes--because the only way for a current stock holder to get their money back is to sell that stock to a new investor for more than the initial investor paid for it. He gives the examples of Google and Amazon. These are two stocks that pay no dividends even though they make a profit. And in the case of Google, the vast majority of stock holders have no voting rights. Hence the only way an "investor" in Google or Amazon can get their money back is through new "investors." His complete analysis is expounded in his book The Ponzi Factor: The Simple Truth About Investment Profits.
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William Rees
Professor of Population Ecology
He is the co-founder of the Eco-footprint concept. His analyses on human carrying capacity are impressive. Few other people in his position are willing to speak publicly about human carrying capacity. But many people in his capacity utilize a great deal of their time analyzing the carrying capacity for various non-human animals on a yearly basis, i.e. ecologists and wildlife biologists work to calculate the number of hunting tags to issue each year. Those tags are often species specific based on current population and available habitat.
Professor of Population Ecology
He is the co-founder of the Eco-footprint concept. His analyses on human carrying capacity are impressive. Few other people in his position are willing to speak publicly about human carrying capacity. But many people in his capacity utilize a great deal of their time analyzing the carrying capacity for various non-human animals on a yearly basis, i.e. ecologists and wildlife biologists work to calculate the number of hunting tags to issue each year. Those tags are often species specific based on current population and available habitat.