"can de-growth be considered a policy option? a historical note on nicholas georgescu-roegen and the club of rome"
Nicholas Georgescu-Roegen was a mathematician and economist, who wrote in 1971 an important treatise on the entropy law and its consequences for economics. He is today rediscovered as a major inspiration by social and political movements advocating "de-growth" of the economy. Georgescu-Roegen had some contacts with such organizations, most notably the Club of Rome (of "Limits to Growth" fame). But he ultimately broke contact and addressed severe criticisms to most of the ecological economics movement. This article unfolds this story, based on new material retrieved from the personal archives of Georgescu-Roegen.