Professor Emeritus of Agricultural Economics

University of Missouri Columbia

College of Agriculture, Food and Natural Resources

Since retiring from the University in early 2000, Ikerd spends most of his time writing and speaking out on issues related to sustainable agriculture with an emphasis on the economics of sustainabilty.

* Addresses the philosophical and scientific roots of sustainability

* Examines neglected ethical and moral aspects of capitalist economic theory

* Advocates a new sustainable paradigm for all living organizations, businesses, economics, and societies

Over the past half-century, capitalist economics has deviated from its original social purpose into an amoral quest for economic growth at any cost. A relentless pursuit of profits and the "bottom line" poses a constant threat to the earth and the life upon it. Ikerd, who spent the first half of his thirty-year academic career as a traditional free-market, neoclassical economist, came to see the inherently extractive and exploitative nature of his own field and began to develop an alternative vision for capitalism, which he lays out in this book.

In order to foster a new economics of sustainability, social and ethical values must be reintegrated into capitalist economics, thus restoring a sense of balance into the economic system that ensures that communities the world over will thrive. Rather than calling for the overthrow of capitalism, Ikerd suggests how capitalism can become a vehicle for these ends.

Both a penetrating critique of capitalism and an exploration of its vast and untapped potential for maximizing human welfare, Sustainable Capitalism: A Matter of Common Sense is written for those concerned with the future of our planet and the continued viability of global capitalism.