Economia - New Economic Systems to Empower People and Support the Living World  

Review by Richard Sanders

Published by the Australian Broadcasting Commission (ABC) Bookshop  this year, this work by Geoff Davies has one of the best analyses of the sustainability problem that I have  so far encountered. The book provides a fascinating and illuminating insight into the complex subject of  sustainability - sustainability being primarily concerned with the long-term viability of the relationship  between human socio-economic systems and the ecological systems that underpin all life (including  humans). The reader is taken on a journey of discovery that revolves around an excellent critique of  economics, counterpoised against truly amazing insights into how all of life has self-organised from the  simple origins of life through to the current complexity of the biosphere. Further information can be found  at the above website, which says in part : "Drawing on his scientific background, he describes the way the  natural world operates and argues that there is no reason why economies can't operate according to the  same principles as the human societies and the living systems from which they have emerged." In my  view, its lucid analysis from a systems perspective provides an excellent insight to the main dimensions of  the sustainability problem, particularly the often overlooked systemic role of the current financial system in  driving unsustainability. I thoroughly recommend this work to anybody interested in the thorny issue of  sustainability.