Why Capitalism Struggles with the Laws of Nature
Economic theories such as Donut Economics, Earth Overshoot Day, and planetary boundary frameworks have made one thing abundantly clear: resources are finite, and human activity must operate within ecological limits. These models rightly emphasize thresholds, scarcity, and systemic risk. Yet despite their insight, they struggle to alter behavior at scale.
Capitalism, as it currently operates, is governed by a singular objective: the growth of financial capital. Indicators such as GDP, profit, and shareholder value reward throughput, speed, and accumulation, while remaining largely indifferent to the condition of the systems from which value is drawn. The laws of nature—regeneration rates, carrying capacity, interdependence—are treated as externalities rather than governing constraints.
What is missing is not awareness, but accountability.
To introduce accountability, we must first rethink what value is, where it comes from, and how it should be governed.
