On the Origins of Energy Blindness
The Great Simplification #108 with Steve Keen
A core theme of this podcast, and indeed of my work for the past 20 years, is how incredibly unaware society is of how energy (mostly fossil currently) enables and constrains our lifestyles and our futures. On this episode, economist Steve Keen presents a deep forensic history of why modern economic theory has neglected the role of energy in productivity - and why this “Energy Blindness” has now become a major blindspot in how our culture views our circumstances. The massive, temporary carbon surplus we’ve extracted over the last few centuries has resulted in an exponential increase in the standard of living for many. This explosion of global economic growth also happened to coincide with the development of all modern economic theories and formulas, leading to a core misunderstanding in the way our economies are powered.
Steve Keen is an economist, author of Debunking Economics and The New Economics: A Manifesto. His new book, Rebuilding Economics from the Top Down, will be released in 2024. He is a Research Fellow at the Institute for Strategy, Resilience, and Security at University College in London. Steve was one of the handful of economists to realize that a serious economic crisis was imminent, and to publicly warn of it from as early as December 2005. This, and his pioneering work on modeling debt-deflation, resulted in him winning the Revere Award from the Real World Economics Review.
How have technology and innovation been used to cover up the role of a growing energy supply in the last century of rising prosperity? In the midst of discussions between value and labor, where does energy really fit into the equation? Where do we go once we understand the true role of energy in our economy - and will we have the ability to reshape economic policies to be in line with our energy realities?
In case you missed it…
Last week, I was joined by biophysical analyst Mario Giampietro to unpack his decades of research on a wide-lens view of the challenges facing the human system. With current metrics that only optimize for one variable, increasingly reductionist academic fields, and scientific communication consistently falling short, researchers who look at how all the pieces of our predicament fit together and most effectively help others understand will become more essential. Will taking on these issues from a different lens help to create better, multi-dimensional responses that include biophysical, cultural, and social components as we move into the coming decades?
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This was an exhilarating talk! Thanks!