This article was written by H. T. Odum and published in 1973. In it Odum describes how energy and the maximum power principle relate to economic development. Of particular interest, he describes how, in times when there are limited available resources, the maximum power principle leads societies to shift to more efficiency and diverse processes that lead to a “steady state.” The abstract states: “Many are beginning to see that energy, ecology, and economics form a single, unified system, states the author, who gives twenty points to explain the energy control of our economy and the relationship to the environment. The net reserves of fossil fuels are mainly unknown, he says, but they are smaller than the gross reserves which have been the basis of public discussions and decisions that imply that growth can continue. He offers a general answer to the present world situation, where “boom and bust” economies may soon be forced toward a steady state: reject economic expansionism, stop growth, use available energies for cultural conversion to steady state, and seek out the condition now that will come anyway.”
Odum, H. T. 1973. Energy, ecology and economics. Royal Swedish Academy of Science. AMBIO
2 (6), 220–227.