From Adjustment to Sustainable Development: The Obstacle of Free Trade
Author(s)
Daly, Herman E.
Abstract
“Adjustment” is frequently used to describe economic policies prescribed by international authorities such as the IMF and the World Bank. By narrowly defining “adjustment” in terms of the doctrine of free trade, mainstream economists are charting a course for the world economy that is not sustainable. For the world economy to make the transition to a sustainable society, distribution and scale considerations have to take center stage in economic thinking. This chapter describes five reasons why focusing solely on free trade as an economic strategy is unsustainable and outlines a vision of a world where “development,” not “growth,” is society’s goal.
