Four Economic Systems

By Peter Donaldson

Economy : “an exchange of goods and services”   Nature’s Economy interdependent systems creative, flexible, self-organizing, cycling evolving over long periods of time Gift Economy

• humans in adaptive partnership with nature
• small dense populations of human settlement

  Industrial Economy

• raw materials from nature used by people to improve the lives of people
• increasing human populations in cities
• decreasing supplies of raw materials
• increasing waste and pollution

Sustainable Economy interdependent systems creative, flexible, self-organizing, cycling evolving over long periods of time humans in adaptive partnership with nature

• dense populations of human settlement living in urban transit villages
• sustainable yields of raw materials from nature are used by people to improve the lives of people while maintaining ecosystem integrity
• supplies of raw materials are reused in organic and industrial nutrient cycles
• zero pollution, waste is recycled as a resource
• just like nature