Economic and Ecological (Thinking) Approaches

Even though economics and ecology have the same prefix and are both dedicated to household management, the two scientific fields are based on very different approaches and objectives. Thus, the frequently cited need to reconcile economics and ecology has little common ground. To understand both approaches in their diversity, they will first be reflected concerning their relation to agricultural economics. It can be concluded that the dominance of the economy over ecology caused the consequences and maneuvered the agrarian economy into the impasse in which it currently finds itself. Contrary to what the theory-laden instructions of economics suggest, decision-making processes at the farm level follow a logic that can only be understood on a farm-by-farm basis. Thus, agricultural economics has, at best, a macroeconomic but not a microeconomic approach to reconcile economic and ecological requirements. Instead of providing orientation, the dominance of agricultural economic models is more likely to cause disorientation. This will only change if the methodological tools of economics are made available to realize ecological goals in the first place. How this can be achieved and how a transformation to an eco-social market economy can be prepared are discussed below.