Towards a New Economics

Kenneth Boulding has, in the course of a long and distinguished career, made a seminal contribution to many branches of economics. This major book presents in one volume a selection of his most important recent papers and essays. In the first part of the book, Professor Boulding pushes economics towards a more evolutionary type of theory, towards a greater interest in the real world and towards some fairly specific theoretical positions. He stresses the importance of positive-feedback as well as equilibrium processes. The second part focuses on the grants economy, that is the study of the economics of one-way transfers. In part three, he turns his attention to international economic relations particularly the economics of conflict in unilateral national defence. The final part is on ecological systems, stressing that economies are essentially an eco-system of commodities, part of the total eco-system of the world, which is undergoing a constant and irreversible evolutionary change.