How do you envision a successful planet Earth that is not growing? In this Smart Talk edition, Andrew Mazzone and Dr. Herman E. Daly discuss that very topic and why unconstrained, unthinking GNP growth presents more global problems than it solves. In addition, Dr. Daly explains how the Georgist concept of shifting the tax base toward natural resources and away from labor and capital could benefit economies and the environment around the world. Also in the discussion: the downside implications of free trade and the Euro, what’s wrong with GNP calculations, why an ecological approach to markets is smart policy, and more.

Herman E. Daly is Emeritus Professor at the University of Maryland, School of Public Policy. From 1988 to 1994 he was Senior Economist in the Environment Department of the World Bank. He has served on the boards of directors of numerous environmental organizations, and was co-founder and associate editor of the journal Ecological Economics. His interest in economic development, population, resources, and environment has resulted in over a hundred articles as well as numerous books, including Beyond Growth, Ecological Economics and Sustainable Development, and From Uneconomic Growth to a Steady-State Economy.