ROB DIETZ

Here’s a crazy but true fact: negative externalities are the norm — not the exception — in our current economic setup. Failure to recognize this fact has created a wild divergence between theory and practice when it comes to managing harm caused by economic activity.

"There are no limits to growth and human progress when men and women are free to follow their dreams."

This cornucopian quote sounds like something a Disney character would say, but it's actually chiseled in stone on a monument in the heart of Washington, DC. These are the words of Ronald Reagan, and they have a permanent home in the atrium of the government building that bears his name. These words also seem to have a permanent home in the economic strategy of the U.S. and just about every other nation.

So it’s really quite simple. The assumption to which marketing students (and just about every participant in the economy) submit is this:

More sales (through more marketing) = more money = more consumption of goods and services = better lives.

It's hard to know where to begin a rant about the materialistic mess that our culture has made of Christmastime in the United States. An easy target is the Thanksgiving midnight-madness sales at big-box retail stores. And there's always those devious marketers who use nostalgia toturn December into a month of mass consumption. But there's one industry that, more than any other, epitomizes materialism and our seemingly limitless propensity to consume: self storage.

Blind pursuit of comfort must take some blame for the quandary we find ourselves in. In America, we're burning through an incredible bounty of fossil fuel, a bounty so energy-dense that most of us fail to comprehend its magnitude. This way of life is centered on comfort...Perhaps it's only news to Mr. Cheney (and other politicians before and since), but "unsustainable" will trump "non-negotiable" every time. And America is about life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness, not the pursuit of comfort.

My final week as the director of CASSE was beyond belief. It included oddities such as bear poop, a speeding ticket, a discussion of steady state economics on horseback, and the juxtaposition of ostentatious consumption (an iconic billionaire's vacation mansion) and humble sharing (an iconic poet/philosopher's willingness to impart his lifelong wisdom). It also offered an opportunity to pause and reflect on humanity's predicament, a reflection that produced feelings of hope for the future. All the while, I felt like the dumbest guy in the room.

Each day it becomes more apparent that we are on a misguided mission. Pursuit of perpetual economic growth is not a winning proposition for a lasting prosperity. Building a bigger economy can make sense in some circumstances, but always aiming to build a bigger economy means taking an ever-bigger chunk out of the earth's ecosystems and the life-support services they provide. Why, then, do so many people believe in the fantasy of infinite growth on a finite planet? Is it because we can't come up with a better idea? Is it because the rich and powerful have trapped the rest of us in their web of conspiracy? Is it because people are hopelessly greedy and materialistic?

Do you long for the good old days when billionaires were heroes? With dot com moguls and hedge fund tricksters running the brave new economy, it would be refreshing to unearth an old-fashioned tycoon, an industrialist who earned billions selling real products in the real world. Meet John Dungpyle, the throwback America needs during this double-dip recession.

I had an amazing fourth of July, a truly outstanding American experience. I feel fortunate to live where I do, in a place where I can retreat from the broader cares of the world and have a happy day. And here's a dirty little secret: I didn't burn an ounce of oil while doing it. You could call it a steady state celebration.

Few people have read the dense volumes published by the economist Milton Mountebank, but his work has affected you, me and every single person on the planet. Dr. Mountebank has revolutionized economic thought, and now he has been recognized for his singular efforts. Yesterday at a gala reception in Stockholm, Sweden, the chairman of Sveriges Riksbank, Peter Norborg, presented Dr. Mountebank with the Nobel Prize in Economics for his lifetime of work on infinite planet theory.