Dear Members,
The Russian writer Leo Tolstoy (1828 – 1910) tells the story of a peasant named Pahom, who is keen to acquire as much fertile land as possible but wears himself out in the process. He dies and is buried. The moral of the tale is that we need as much earth as is required for our grave.
How is this today? Let’s say that we are all of us together, all humans on earth, Pahom: currently 8,008,336,500 of us: How much Earth does humanity need? The answer is 1.75 Earths per year. This statement is based on the worldwide use of resources in relation to what the Earth can realistically provide. Earth Overshoot Day marks the date when humanity has used all the biological resources the Earth can regenerate in an entire year. This year, Earth Overshoot Day was on 28 July. Since then, we have lived on credit, borrowing from future generations.
Centenary of Rudolf Steiner’s Economics Course
Rudolf Steiner was also interested in how much Earth each of us needs. In the course he gave on Economics (GA 340) in the summer of 1922 he looked at this question from an economic point of view, asking the opposite question: How much earth is there for each of us? We find the answer to this question by relating the Earth that can be used to the population.
Balancing Earth’s Life Forces
One can work out that 2,000 square metres of land are available for each person on Earth. And one can easily show how this is sufficient to feed everyone on Earth. So, there is room for all! The question is, how do we organize ourselves and what can we do to re–establish a balance between what we take from the Earth and its life forces. According to Rudolf Steiner all economic values must be seen in relation to the yield we gain from the Earth because that is the true foundation of our life. If there are too many economic values that bear no relation to the land and to nature, they should be taken out of the economy. One way of achieving this is in the form of gifts to the free spiritual life. Less consumption of the Earth could lead to an increase in culture. We do not only need Earth, we also need life and spirit.