Seminar: "Energy, surplus and the economic process through an evolutionary lens" by Joshua Farley

The REAL-Postgrowth project (Post-growth – REAL – A Post-Growth Deal) is excited to announce the online seminar "Energy, surplus and the economic process through an evolutionary lens" with Dr Joshua Farley.

Title: "Energy, surplus and the economic process through an evolutionary lens"

Speaker: Dr Joshua Farley, University of Vermont.

• Date: Tuesday, 7th April, 2026
• Time: 15.00-16.00
• Venue: Online https://us02web.zoom.us/j/83426368977?pwd=17odwhECFt9t8gvPUvxwjWtorFDHQb.1

This presentation examines the economic process, energy, surplus, values, growth and degrowth through the lens of multilevel selection theory (MLS) to explain why the right relationship between humanity and nature—the focus of ecological economics—is the same as between the cell and the body.  A core insight of both multi-level selection theory and economics is that cooperative groups in which individuals specialize in different activities generate more surplus than less cooperative groups, yet selfish individuals can thrive at the expense of the group. This is equally true for cells cooperating to form a multicellular organism, or organisms cooperating to form an ecosystem. 

Joshua Farley is a professor of Ecological Economics in the department of Community Development and Applied Economics, Fellow of the Gund Institute for Environment, Affiliate of the Institute for Agroecology, and Ecological Economics Lead of the Leadership for the Ecozoic Initiative (L4Ecozoic.org)  at the University of Vermont.  He is currently preparing a 3rd edition of Daly and Farley’s Ecological Economics: Principles and Applications.

​​​​​​​