The idea of limits to growth has been among the most influential and controversial notions in environmental debates. For many greens, infinite growth on a finite planet is clearly impossible. Yet governments, business, most economists, and even mainstream environmental groups have tended to resist such conclusions, favoring the idea that economic growth can be decoupled from rising environmental impacts.

The possibility of boundless expansion was a widely shared, modern article of faith until the Club of Rome called it into question. Founded in 1968 by Italian industrialist Aurelio Peccei and Scottish scientist Alexander King, the club's original members consisted of a small, international group from the worlds of science, industry, diplomacy, academia, and civil society. Their concerns over the “predicament of mankind” included the dominance of ...