DALY REVIEWS BY CATEGORY

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Everyone must see this film, because we all have a huge stake in making Herman Daly's ideas become real in the world. Econoclast skillfully combines Daly's compelling personal story with a visually-powerful explanation of why his work is our guide to a world where the priorities are actually people, place, and planet.  

--Gus Speth, Former director, United Nations Development Program,  former Dean of the Yale School of the Environment and author of America the Possible

 My personal hero, the late Interior Secretary Stewart L. Udall, once wrote:  "An increasing Gross National Product has become the Holy Grail and most of the economists who are its keepers have no concern for the economics of beauty."  Herman Daly, as this film shows, was not one of those economists.  He challenged the Gospel of Economic Growth in defense of the world's beauty, social justice and the environment, just as Udall did.  Econoclast is an uplifting, insightful and provocative film. It portrays lessons well taught, but the challenge remains: Are we willing to learn and be guided accordingly? 

  --Dr. Robert Stanton, first African American director of the National Park Service of the  U.S.

Herman Daly’s pioneering work that the economy is a subsystem of the biosphere remains one of the most important intellectual contributions of our time. ECONOCLAST: Herman Daly and the Gospel of Growth captures this legacy with exceptional clarity.  Its director, John de Graaf, whose integrity and storytelling talent I have admired for many years, brings Daly’s ideas to life with a rare ability to make complex concepts accessible without losing their depth. For Eastern Europe—where societies continue to grapple with the pressures of rapid development and the unresolved consequences of post transition growth—this film offers a vital perspective. It invites us to rethink prosperity in ways that respect ecological limits and strengthen communities. For that reason, I warmly recommend the film to scholars, policymakers, and citizens across our region.

--Dr. Persányi Miklós, former Minister for Environment and Water of Hungary, former President of COP, the UN Convention on Climate Change, former CEO, Budapest Zoo and Botanical Garden 

The great economist Herman Daly had the powerful insight that we cannot have infinite economic growth on a finite planet. Indeed, the quest for that growth is leading to climate breakdown and increasing inequality. ECONOCLAST brilliantly shows the impact of Herman’s work on the thinking of today’s economists, and shows a path to how governments - including cities - can make decisions to build an environmentally and socially sustainable future. 

--David Miller, former mayor of Toronto, Canada, managing director, C40 Climate Cities organization

Throughout his life, Herman Daly has committed himself to convince his fellow economists, politicians and the general public that quantitative growth in a finite world cannot continue forever. The life, ideas and influence of this extraordinary man is now portrayed in an original and thought-provoking way in the film Econoclast, directed by John de Graaf. The film is also an insightful overview of the environmental problems of mankind, without being boring nor depressing: the photography is spectacular (though in some cases disturbing) and the pacing is fast. Moreover, leading ecological economists, among others Peter Victor (who also produced the film), Kate Raworth, Gaya Herrington and Joshua Farley, enrich the film with very valuable contributions. I hope that it will be seen by many people, so that Daly’s message can spread more and more.

--Giandomenico Scarpelli, Manager of The Bank of Italy, now retired

Econoclast is more than a warning that countries pushing unrelenting growth are leading the world into ecological and economic collapse. But it goes beyond predicting a dystopia based on reliable data to lay out practical steps already underway and additional measures that can be pursued to create a sustainable future. It draws our attention to the efforts emerging from cities large and small. Communities need local leaders to put these solutions into practice.

--Nick Licata, former president, Seattle City Council, named “best local legislator in the United States” by The Progressive magazine, 2012

John de Graaf’s latest, and sadly final, film before retirement, Econoclast:, Herman Daly and the Gospel of Growth is a magnificent, thought-provoking documentary about ecological economics. This film captures the essence of John’s 50 years of filmmaking by addressing the issues of the depletion of the world’s natural resources for financial gain, and the residual ecological damage it has done to our planet.  I hope you enjoy this film as much as I have.  

–-Bob Sampayan, former mayor of Vallejo, California, America’s most diverse city

This film is extremely timely. Signs abound that the current trajectory of limitless economic growth cannot be sustained. As record wildfires, flooding, and extreme heat events ravage our planet, and the gap between the wealthiest and everyone else grows to almost unimaginable extremes, more are questioning the current economic system. Many don’t know that there have been observers who saw this coming and advocated for a better way. Herman Daly was one of the most influential. This film chronicles Daly’s key insights and lays out possibilities for a much better way going forward. In this time of upheaval this is an extremely important film. 

--Rev. Cylvia Hayes, former First Lady of Oregon, Teacher, Speaker, Writer—Economic System Change and Spiritual Development, publisher of TRANSCEND on Substack

The time for Herman Daly's revolutionary economic ideas is NOW. This film begins the paradigm shift from growth economics to smart sustainable economics that will benefit us all, especially future generations. David Miller, former mayor of Toronto, asserts that cities are ideal places to start implementing Herman Daly’s economics. I agree. All aspiring local leaders need to see this film. There IS a better way to a fair economy that leads to better lives.

--Sharla Gardner, Former president, Duluth, Minnesota city council

A fabulous film!. Interesting, intriguing, it pulls one in. I did not know of Herman Daly before. What a fantastic thought leader! Several years ago , a friend introduced me to Kate Raworth’s work and I have taught Doughnut Economics in my business classes at UW Bothell ever since. I love what Amsterdam is doing and makes me want to learn more how Helsinki and Finland are doing in regards to these thoughts / actions as I know that Finland was the first country to adopt circular economy strategy as the national strategy.  

--Kristiina Hiukka, Honorary Finnish Consul for Washington, Montana and Idaho, Adjunct Professor, Leadership Coach, University of Washington—Bothell 

In the late 1990s while I was at the White House Council on Environmental Quality, I was invited to a luncheon at the Netherlands Embassy at which the Dutch honored and presented an award to Herman Daly.  Econoclast transmits and amplifies Daly’s message and work rather than romanticizing the man. The content of the interviews, graphics and illustrative film clips are effective in giving the opportunity to viewers to process the information and come to their own realization of the situation.

--David Berry, Former  Director, working groups on industrial ecology and on sustainable development indicators, White House Council on Environmental Quality

I had never heard of Daly, but now I want to read everything he’s written and taught. I know many people that will enjoy his teachings as they are already on the same wavelength but without the concrete language for their ideas.  This film speaks loudly to me and is a much needed narrative all over the world.

--Wendy Durrwachter, film composer, city council member, Duluth, MN

What a fine film and a great tribute to Herman’s memory. He’d be blushing for sure. 

--Alan AtKisson, former environmental officer, Swedish government, and author, Believing Cassandra, Stockholm, Sweden

ECONOMISTS

An amazingly coherent, fast-paced smash up of Daly's unusual life and times, why he was influential and despised, the history of ever greater environmental disasters unfolding for people and planet, and of the opportunities Daly's thinking now provides. Congratulations to Peter Victor and John De Graaf and the whole team for a wonderful tribute to Herman Daly.  

--Richard B. Norgaard,  Professor Emeritus, Ecological Economics, U.C. Berkeley

At last. A timely and deeply moving portrait of the revolutionary economist economics tried to ignore. Daly’s impeccable good sense and sheer humanity shine through every frame of John de Graaf’s beautifully crafted and long-awaited tribute to an extraordinary man.

--Tim Jackson, Economist, University of Surrey, England, Author of Prosperity Without Growth

An awesome and pertinent film! The most recent empirical data have backed up Herman Daly's warnings about the dangers of unlimited economic growth. Alternative frameworks exist, are feasible, and over the years have only become more necessary to implement. I look forward to including this film in my new Harvard course on post-growth approaches and hope it gets used widely by academic and community institutions.

--Gaya Herrington, wellbeing economist, Harvard instructor, and strategy & sustainability executive 

Econoclast is a fitting eulogy to the life and contributions of Herman Daly, co-founder of the International Society for Ecological Economics, winner of the Blue Planet Prize and author of a wide range of explanatory texts that have found a wide following on all continents. The film captures not only a personal portrait of Herman's life and times, but also presents the essential thinking of his views on the economy as a wholly owned subsidiary of the natural environment. It’s a fitting finale  to Herman's work, as his contributions ripple through the waters and continue to shake up thinking on human-nature relations and what can and should be done for human development and a harmonious, fulfilling future.  

Peter May, Ecological economist, Professor, Federal Rural University of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil

What a magical film, woven with equal parts historical intelligence and transcendent spirituality. Econoclast reminds us that the dismal science is not always so dismal, and that it can be enlivened by the bold, imaginative, and humane thinking of practitioners like Herman Daly. In this perceptive documentary, Daly stands as a scholar and moral philosopher we should all emulate--a macroeconomist who labored to put the macroeconomy in its largest and most appropriate context, a spiritual man who knew that the only life worth living was a life lived for others, and an intellectual giant determined to understand and teach others about genuine economic value.  

-–David Shreve, senior economist, Center for the Advancement of the Steady State Economy, Arlington, VA

Econoclast brings Herman Daly's ideas to a wider audience, reminds us of the importance of questioning conventional assumptions about economic growth, and provides an accessible introduction to a thinker whose work deserves to be remembered. Hopefully, the film will help to keep Daly's ideas alive and stimulate renewed interest in his writings.

--Jeroen C.J.M. van den Berg, distinguished environmental economist and ICREA Research Professor, Autonomous University of Barcelona

 Econoclast is not only an impressive portrait of Herman Daly as a person, it also captures his far-sightedness and integrity as a thinker. In an academic environment where most economists opposed or even ridiculed his ideas, he remained steadfast, never letting the prevailing orthodoxy cloud his judgment.

--Johannes Hirata, Professor of Economics, Onsnabruck University of Applied Sciences, Germany

Econoclast is an eye opener onto a world that consumes far in excess of what is sustainable and regenerative, and a serious call for saving the planet before it is depleted and burnt. It presents Herman Daly’s seminal economic thought in a persuasive, direct, and compassionate tone, which is in a marked contrast to past attempts to detract from his great contributions. The video ties many of Daly’s thoughts together, as never before, through his own voice, and the voices of his students, colleagues and admirers. In particular, I was very impressed by the way Daly’s major contributions are chronicled, presented and defended in Econoclast.  I enthusiastically recommend it as a must see and a must listen to for its analyses and messages.

--Atif Kubursi, Professor of Economics Emeritus, McMaster University, Canada

Absolutely a film that is true to Herman’s views and spirit, as well as visually beautiful! 

--David Batker, ecological economist and former Daly student, Tacoma, WA

Econoclast does an excellent job in presenting Herman Daly’s ideas and explaining why they matter more than ever.  It’s a great tribute to him.  I hope it will open some eyes.

--Joshua Farley, University of Vermont, co-author of Ecological Economics, Burlington, VT

SCIENTISTS

What a powerful, brilliant film!.  The visuals are wonderfully chosen to give the words greater impact.  If we are to understand the global eco-crisis humanity has created, this film provides a powerful explanation, namely the ideology of growth without regard to Nature as the definition of progress, an impossibility in a finite world. Herman Daly's message was a plea to put the "eco" back into economics.  Every student, parent, politician, businessperson, in fact, everyone should watch this film to recognize the crisis we now face.   

--David Suzuki, Professor Emeritus of Genetics, University of British Columbia, host of the CBC program, ‘The Nature of Things,’ Right Livelihood Award winner, grandfather

Econoclast is a vital cinematic intervention for our time. By masterfully articulating Daly’s steady-state economics, the film exposes the folly of infinite growth in a 'full world' and rightfully centers the critical issues of ecological scale and global distribution. This provides the exact intellectual foundation for a Neo-Khaldunian vision: enacting regenerative degrowth in the Global North while championing sufficiency development in the Global South. This documentary is an essential watch for anyone committed to transcending the destructive dogma of endless expansion and building a just, equitable One Planet Civilization where the economy serves the biosphere and all life flourishes.

—Jelel Ezzine, Professor of Systems Theory and Control, University of Tunis-El Manar, President, Tunisian Association for the Advancement of Science, Technology and Innovation

Herman Daly was right all along, and it is finally starting to sink in. Herman Daly's paradigm, of an economy that operates within Earth's limits, was a key inspiration behind the Planetary Boundaries framework. Today we have a complete framework for prosperity and equity for people on a resilient and stable Planet.  We should all thank Herman Daly for his legacy, so well represented in ECONOCLAST, which I strongly recommend for everyone interested in good lives on a stable planet.

Johan Rockström, Professor in Earth System Science, Director Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research, Germany

If you want to understand human society, you need to understand the economy. To understand the economy, you have to understand how society exchanges energy and materials with the environment within which we reside. This idea, core to ecological economics, is what Herman Daly forced into prominence. To take it seriously means to honestly explore tradeoffs between social outcomes and the physical world, as Daly did throughout his distinguished career.     ECONOCLAST brings all this to light. No student is too young or old for its illumination of the big picture.

--Carey W. King, Assistant Director and Research Scientist, Energy Institute, The University of Texas at Austin 

What a great film!  Econoclast is a magnificent dance with rhythm to enchant any viewer about one of the most important economists of our time and the effects his ideas are having.  It will become a must-see, offering a very attractive way to educate about more than 70 years of lies under the economic growth paradigm.  This film helps us not only understand important concepts related to limits to growth (digesting the best of the scholars) but also offers some hope that "we are still on the way" to change course and dismantle the gospel.

--Cuauhtemoc Leon, Director, Specialized Center for Environmental Management, Mexico City

Econoclast provides valuable fuel for the train to replace the growth paradigm with the ecological paradigm.  Can we get off the unlimited growth train before it’s too late? Hope is springing from the life and influence of the late Herman Daly. The film is terrific! It balances the life of Herman Daly and the influences on him and  the technical descriptions of the growth paradigm and alternative paradigm.  It is relatable to the public and to the professionals. 

--Robert Coish, Retired professional engineer, Manitoba Hydro, Canada

MEDIA

The latest documentary from award-wining filmmaker John de Graaf is a fascinating profile of Herman Daly, the visionary economist who warned us that endless growth would destroy our planet. I learned a lot about Daly, and now I want to know even more.  It’s a must-watch story about the link between the earth and our economy, arriving at the exact moment the world needs concrete solutions.

 --Moss Bresnahan, Executive Director, Illinois Public Media, University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign

What a powerful documentary! Thought-provoking, insightful, informative, Econoclast delves into the dire consequences of prioritizing economic growth over human and environmental wellbeing. A must watch! 

--Maggie Stogner, Director, Documentary Film Program, American University, Washington DC

Econoclast is a quintessential John de Graaf film, a profile of a visionary ahead of his times. Herman Daly put forth plans for sustainable future that could save our planet from greed-driven destruction. Econoclast illuminates a path forward toward a viable future - if there is the will to make it happen.  I hope ordinary citizens and policy leaders watch this film and steer our economic priorities toward a livable, global future.

--B. J. Bullert, filmmaker and professor emerita, Antioch University, Seattle, WA

What a beautiful and inspiring tribute to Herman Daly, the American Econoclast who sounded the alarm bell about looming environmental catastrophe as early as 1966, challenging the gospel of growth on which Western economies have relied for more than a century! Daly died in 2022, but his work is catching fire around the world, impacting a new generation of economists, politicians and religious leaders for whom there is no Planet B. This film should serve as both a celebration of Daly's life and vision and a clarion call for the world to take action. 

 --Wanda Urbanska, simplicity advocate, author and host/producer "Simple Living with Wanda Urbanska," airing on PBS stations 2004-2009, Raleigh, NC

Econoclast provides a wonderful introduction to the thinking of Herman Daly and the consequences of ignoring his warnings about the importance of scale and limits. Daly recognized that maximizing consumption destroys life and that true abundance flows from moral and religious commitments that discipline our appetites and ground hope-sustaining work. His questions about how we might subordinate human economies to ecological limits set forth a much-needed agenda for thought and action. 

--Jeffrey Bilbro, Professor of English at Grove City College, Editor-in-Chief at Front Porch Republic

Herman Daly would have been pleased by this documentary.  But even more important than his story is its continuation in the work of those he inspired.  Throughout this film, it becomes evident that Herman's ideas will live on for many generations. For me, the highlights are the stories of David Miller, former Toronto mayor and leader of a global team of mayors trying to rein in climate change, and Katia Vladimirova, who fights against  the extreme wastefulness of the fashion industry, from the sweatshops where clothes are made, to landfills of developing countries where microfibers from millions of tons are leaching into the oceans. 

-- Clifford W. Cobb, Thematic editor, American Journal of Economics and Sociology

Econoclast makes Herman Daly’s revolutionary ideas accessible, compelling, and profoundly relevant to the challenges we face today. A must-see for anyone who believes that a better economy—and a better future—is possible.

--Steve Dunsky, former director of film and video, U.S. Forest Service, Western Division, producer of Green Fire, a film biography of Aldo Leopold

Econoclast is an extraordinary story about an amazing individual.  It explores Herman Daly’s life, his work as an economist, and his continued pursuits to enrich our World.  The film includes actual interview clips with Daly, interviews with others familiar with Daly and his work, and stellar footage to illustrate Daly’s ideas, his advocacy to include ethics and broader elements into our economy.  It's a short, 45 minute fascinating journey that I believe a wide audience will enjoy taking.  I’m sure it will stimulate many minds and broaden discussion regarding Daly’s ideas. 

 --Alexis Van Dyke, former Filmmaking director, Boston University Center for Digital Imaging Arts, Washington, DC   

I wish this film could be required viewing. There's a relief in knowing the Faustian story sold to us, particularly in the United States, is a lie. By living as though both we and our planet are limitless, we work and consume ourselves into exhaustion on a hedonic treadmill that serves our egos and the 0.01%, all at the expense of our shared future.   Econoclast offers us a chance to rewrite that story; when we accept our limits, we'll discover that the only things truly limitless are our imaginations and our capacity for kindness. Herman Daly was, indeed, ahead of his time. Today, I hope enough people take his message to heart that our next chapter brings an end of unsustainable growth, not by disaster but by design,  Let me know when it's available to spread the word far and wide!       

--Piper Hendricks, CEO, Stories Change Power, Braver Angels Citizen-Led Solutions Team, Bethesda, MD       

Econoclast is a must-see for anyone concerned with the state of our planet's environment. It's an exceptional film that delves into the work of the late Herman Daly, a noted economist and environmentalist. Those two disciplines might seem unrelated to some, but the film seamlessly weaves the two perspectives into one coherent vision and an impactful documentary.

--Mirko Popadic, cinematographer, editor and film producer, Chicago IL

I just now watched Econoclast and am blown away. If this work cannot awaken us to the true cost our choices exact upon the earth and help people rethink their priorities, very little will. I am thrilled to do everything I can to promote this important and timely film and help raise awareness. 

--Sylvia Binsfeld, filmmaker, Santa Rosa, CA

Econoclast is a wakeup call for the world. But it’s more than that. As inequality, record temperatures, resource shortages, and overpopulation rage, it’s an urgent call to action. This powerful film on visionary economist Herman Daly shows how we got into this mess through worship of growth without limits and how we can exit overconsumption and GDP-itis for a sane and sustainable future. The film makes a rousing case that the time is now to break glass, pull out Daly's solutions, and put out the fires.

--Joe Robinson, author of Work to Live, former Los Angeles Times travel writer

ACADEMICS

Econoclast is a brilliant introduction to sustainable economics. This engaging film uses appealing images and interviews to show how we have exceeded the earth’s capacity to support current human lifestyles, and what we can do about it. Students will enjoy the fast pace and the easy-to-understand evidence about the shortcomings of mainstream economics for sustaining life on the planet, particularly in the areas of resource depletion, over-consumption, and disregard for the alarming environmental costs. The film shows that better alternatives exist. The thread tying all of this together is Herman Daly, whose pioneering ideas remain as vital as ever for true human prospering and  quality of life on this planet.  

--Lance Bennett, emeritus professor of political communications, University of Washington, Seattle, WA

In an era dominated by endless expansion, Econoclast serves as a powerful wake-up call. Long before environmental alarms were sounded globally, the visionary economist Herman Daly diagnosed the core structural flaws of our global economic engine. Daly dared to challenge mainstream neoliberal doctrine and exposed the profound contradictions of uncontrolled globalization.  This compelling film does more than just chronicle the life of an academic rebel; it offers a critical lens through which to examine our current planetary crisis. For anyone seeking to move beyond superficial fixes and fundamentally re-evaluate the future of human society, this documentary is indispensable viewing.

--Riichiro Oda, CEO, Change Agent Inc., Adjunct Professor, Shizenkan University, Tokyo, Japan

Decades ago, Herman Daly had clarity and courage. He understood the role of physics in “sustainability” and the folly of infinite growth on our one planet. Can we hear this basic message? Despite our big brains - and ever more “big data” - we continue to ignore limits and pursue false solutions that prioritize the economy over the environment. The good news is that the foundation of real solutions has not changed: reducing waste and consumption dramatically, ensuring principled city planning, and protecting natural areas held in the public trust. This is not difficult, and we should start acting accordingly. 

--Susan Masino, Paul E. Raether Distinguished Professor of Applied Science, Trinity College, Hartford, CT

How grateful I am for a film that celebrates the genius and heart of Herman Daly! Long overdue and incredibly timely, it's just what we need to think our way out of the rigid and shallow economic system that encourages us to destroy life. 

--Sandra Lubarsky, former chair, Department of Sustainable Development, Appalachian State University, Boone, NC

ECONOCLAST is an outstanding resource for teachers as well as community groups looking to better understand the ways that the emphasis on growth shape our lives. It is interesting, accessible, and its 45-minute length makes it excellent for a viewing followed by discussion format. I am excited to share this resource with my students at the undergraduate and graduate levels.

 --Melinda Messineo, Professor of Sociology, Ball State University, Indiana, and editor of Teaching Sociology review

Edward Abbey said, “Growth for growth’s sake is the ideology of the cancer cell.”  This new documentary detailing economist Herman Daly’s unconventional thinking regarding the traditional positive view of economic growth is powerful testimony to the essential truth of Abbey’s pronouncement. The film hit me like a slap in the face, forcing me to take a hard look at the way I live my life.  Econoclast implores us to take immediate action to thwart what otherwise is destined to be the continuing downward spiral in the quality of life on Earth. This is a film for young and old, have and have nots alike. It deserves worldwide viewing.

--Daniel L. Dustin, Professor Emeritus, University of Utah, author of Fellow Mortals: The Role of Privilege, Opportunity, and Obligation in Constructing a Life, Santa Fe, NM

Most economists assume, without evidence, that there are no physical limits to economic growth and that all such growth (whether it is building more prisons or affordable housing) is equally valuable.  Herman Daly is one of the first economists to challenge these assumptions.  His views are gaining traction.  This timely and important film is a great introduction to his insights  and his life.  

--Marcus Ford, former professor of environmental humanities and co-founder, Flagstaff Communiversity, Flagstaff, AZ

Econoclast is both accessible and substantive. It is also visually compelling, with thoughtful imagery and a fascinating range of knowledgeable and articulate commentators. The result is a powerful and important documentary about a man and a movement working to change the trajectory of the world’s economy before it is too late to prevent irreversible damage. Economics is not easy to make both interesting and accessible without oversimplifying it, but Econoclast manages to do just that.  I hope the film finds a wide audience, not only in economic education and among the political and social leaders whose decisions will shape our future, but among non-economists as well.

--Robert Sessions, emeritus professor of philosophy, author of Working in America and Becoming Real: Authenticity in an Age of Distractions, Iowa City, IA

Herman Daly's ideas are especially urgent today, as climate disruption, biodiversity loss, resource depletion, and widening inequality expose the limits of equating economic growth with human progress. Econoclast offers both a powerful critique of our growth-obsessed economy and an indispensable vision of prosperity within ecological limits, one that is sober about the challenges ahead yet stubbornly hopeful about our capacity to meet them.

--Collin Syfert, Associate Professor of Speech Communication, Fitchburg State University, MA

A fitting successor to John de Graaf’s Affluenza, Econoclast makes Herman Daly's theories understandable to a lay audience. Well done!    Ripped straight from the headlines, Econoclast explores Daly’s ideas about the disastrous ecological consequences of economic growth divorced from moral and ethical underpinnings and lays out his economics in a clear and powerful way.  This film also lays bare the erroneous belief that technology will save us,  It's a needed wake-up call to a world that has lost its way.

--Howard Karger, Professor of Social Work, Fulbright Senior Scholar, Queensland, Australia

Econoclast is a fantastic film that examines the life and work of Herman Daly, an inspiring intellectual pioneer who challenged the dogmas of conventional economics and helped build the foundations of post-growth thought.  The film provides a primer on core ideas in ecological economics and sustainability more broadly – making it very valuable for university classroom use. It will be of interest to anyone looking for alternatives to our current unsustainable economic path.

--Anders Hayden, Associate Professor of Political Science, Dalhousie University, Halifax, Nova Scotia

John de Graaf has provided an urgently needed account of the life and legacy of radical economist Herman Daly.  Daly was radical in understanding that the root of our current social and environmental crises lay in the separation of ethics from economics—and that sustainable solutions had to be grounded in a new economics grounded in ecological reality.  Econoclast engagingly traces the development of Daly’s creative thinking through his own words, and the testimony of those who worked with him and knew him best.

--Curt Meine, Biographer of Aldo Leopold, Environmental Historian, University of Wisconsin

If, 100 years from now, a historian has the opportunity to write a book about the ideas that saved humanity from the crises it now faces, Herman Daly’s contributions to ecological economics will no doubt deserve a chapter or two.  I wish Econoclast had been available back when I was teaching my students about alternatives to our current economic and cultural systems so that they could learn about Daly’s life and thinking.  

 --Tim Kasser, Emeritus Professor of Psychology, Knox College, author of The High Price of Materialism

John de Graaf’s new film Econoclast: Herman Daly and the Gospel of Growth is an easily accessible introduction to one of the leading environmental thinkers of our time. Daly founded the discipline of ecological economics, which seeks to create economies that facilitate human flourishing while remaining within planetary boundaries. This remains the essential task for twenty-first century economics. Watch Econoclast and prepare to be inspired!

-- Philip Cafaro, Professor of Philosophy Emeritus, Colorado State University

Herman Daly was a true prophet of our times, who passionately warned the world about the dangers of unsustainable growth, and as many prophets was largely unheeded and contested.  This is an inspirational film that pays a well-deserved tribute to his teachings.  It should have the widest circulation as it is a powerful tool to make people aware that, in spite of the dystopic evidence of the present, it is still possible to call for, and fight for, a sustainable economy.

--Gianpietro Mazzoleni, Professor of Communication, University of Milan, Italy

Econoclast introduces viewers to a genealogy of the ideas of ecological economics through the specific insights of Herman Daly.  It shows us how cities such as Amsterdam have already implemented policies that put ecological economics into action. I highly recommend this engaging documentary to any professor teaching economics, political science,  or ecology as it clearly demonstrates how we are more than Homo economicus.

Nichole Shippen, Professor of Political Science, LaGuardia College, City University of New  York

This film makes you long for the paradigm shift away from endless growth and towards a stable state. I hope it is seen by as many citizens and policymakers as possible so that we can be inspired by this vision of ongoing, sustainable prosperity and work together for the well-being of ourselves and our living planet.

--Karin de Weille, former Assistant Professor of Literature, John Jay College, New York City

AUTHORS

I have been an admirer and follower of Herman Daly’s thinking since the 1970s. And I know that conventional economics has been driving humans toward obscene inequality on a pathway to social breakdown and self-extinction. I have never heard Herman’s story told so clearly and powerfully as in Econoclast: Herman Daly and the Gospel of Growth. There may still be time to change our course to create a viable human future that works for all people. But to have serious hope, respectable universities must require courses in ecological economics for all students. Perhaps that starts with this must see film.

--David Korten, author, When Corporations Rule the World, Bainbridge Island, WA

Seasoned film maker John de Graaf has done it again: a brilliant revelation of economist Herman Daly and his compelling message about the folly of endless economic growth. Piercingly vivid images, masterful writing, and interviews laden with wisdom all lead straight as an arrow to the lessons we must learn if we are to survive and thrive on this earth of undeniably limited size and resources.

--Tim Palmer, author of Seek Higher Ground and many other books.  Brookings, OR

Herman Daly was a towering giant and a humble man. Reading his writings and  hearing him speak changed my life and life's work. At the end of this film, Daly articulates the moral imperative behind his economic thought: until we have a change of heart we won't have the change we need. Filmmaker John de Graaf, has the same core, a clear eyed critic with a compassionate heart.

--Vicki Robin, author of the international best-seller, Your Money Or Your Life, Langley, WA

5 stars! One of John de Graaf’s best films! Great title, love the female narrator’s voice and it portrays “economics with ethics” brilliantly. A prophetic film of what’s possible and sustainable if we choose Daly’s path. 

--Michael Modzelewski, author, naturalist, historian, interpretive speaker for Alaska cruise ships

Writer-director John de Graaf and cinematographer Greg Davis don’t lie to us about the seriousness of what we’re facing. But their films give us hope in the form of main characters who lived principled lives founded on the preciousness of this Earth: former Interior Secretary Stewart Udall; Katharine Lee Bates, the woman who wrote “America the Beautiful,” and now, the dissenting economist Herman Daly.

  --Jordan Fisher Smith, former state and national park ranger, author of Nature Noir and Engineering Eden

MINORITY VOICES

Econoclast presents the life and ideas of a visionary thinker who was truly ahead of his time. As an enrolled member of a Native American tribe, I was particularly drawn to his understanding that we cannot separate ourselves from the natural world.  What I found most powerful was Daly’s relational approach to the economy.  His concept of ecological economics connects in meaningful ways with indigenous values about taking only what is needed from Mother Earth, living in balance, and giving back. As an individual who is highly interested in fashion, this documentary also made me reflect on my own consumption.  We need to place thoughtful limits on our use of resources and strengthen conservation efforts if we hope to create a sustainable future and restore balance between people, economies, and the planet.

--Tessa Campbell, (Tulalip/Tlingit) (dxʷlilap/Łingít), curator, Setting Sun Circle Cultural Center,  PhD candidate, University of Washington Information School 

A moral breakthrough is needed in order to achieve a more sustainable and just world. We must come to the realization that more does not equate to better or best. Economic wealth is what currently drives this nation and in order to reverse that  course, we must desire better for all, not just a select few. The path forward must be humanity and dignity over greed and entitlement.  At the In Solidarity Project, we work to protect the Nature's Gifts highlighted in this film and make sure they remain the heritage of all people regardless of race, gender, or orientation.

 --Teresa Baker, founder, In Solidarity Project

Herman Daly often invited me to speak at his brown bag lunches for the World Bank where our conversations became the first exploration of Indigenous economic design principles and Herman’s new economic paradigm which has inspired much of the value based investing and regenerative  Economics of today.  Econoclast brought back the incredible collaboration we had, but more importantly, the story the film provides a deeper understanding of a great man and accessibility to the complex body of his economic work.  

--Rebecca Adamson, Indigenous Economist, Founder and President, First Peoples Worldwide. Fredericksburg, VA

LABOR

In his latest film, Econoclast, John de Graaf has boosted my assessment of the "dismal science" of economics by recognizing Herman Daly, a giant in the field, well ahead of his time, whose belief that academics are meant to be involved with communities and change things led him to challenge the Gospel of Growth, which leads to social and environmental destruction. 

--Jeffrey Smedberg, former president Santa Cruz County AFSCME, director, Reel Work Labor Film Festival, Santa Cruz, CA

I knew very little about Herman Daly before watching. Rejecting GDP as our measure of economic health is pretty revolutionary but the young economists did a great job presenting the idea as a viable option here and globally. The fast fashion example perfectly illustrated the damage done by overconsumption. The shorter work week was a powerful example of how we could gain more time for family and leisure. The visuals and music did a beautiful job of propelling the story forward. 

--Jennifer Munt, Minnesota labor leader and  environmental justice organizer

An amazingly well-crafted film! The juxtaposition of gorgeous stock footage with disturbing images of what unbridled growth has wrought really brings to life the concepts explored by interviewees and the words of Herman Daly.  One of the people interviewed said that a crisis is what it takes for people to fight for a better world but I believe righteous anger and informed hope have to be there, too.

--Kevin Castle, former Longshore worker and first female large crane operator on the West Coast, labor organizer, poet, Seattle 

ACTIVISTS

I am so glad this inspiring story is getting told. Herman Daly provided a fresh way of looking at the world we inhabit--and he helped many more of us see that world with new eyes. A true original!

--Bill McKibben, climate activist, Schumann Distinguished Scholar,  Middlebury College, Middlebury, VT

A powerful film about the great Herman Daly’s economic insights has arrived. John de Graaf has captured the fundamental importance of Herman’s economic approach, societal empathy, and compassion for nature. Herman’s launch of ecological economics was both heroic and still the planet’s number one need. This film explains it all! The idolatry of unbridled, anti-nature economic growth can be stopped. Learn how Herman’s key ideas are already in action. Watch this important film and join the fight for a better world – in our lifetime.

--Randy Hayes, founder, Rainforest Action Network and director, Foundation Earth

What a fabulous movie!  The acclaimed economist Herman Daly gave us critical principles for a thriving future, offering powerful insights into how our economies can serve life rather than undermine it. Renowned filmmaker John de Graaf brings these ideas off the page and into our hearts, revealing the wisdom, humanity, and humor of a remarkable thinker.  In just 45 engaging minutes, you'll meet Herman and many of his friends face to face: thoughtful, touching, and surprisingly entertaining. More than a film, it’s an invitation to see the world differently. You'll come away inspired, energized, and equipped with practical ideas for creating positive change.

-- -Mathis Wackernagel, co-creator, The Ecological Footprint and Earth Overshoot Day, co-founder Global Footprint Network, recipient, The Nobel Family Sustainability Award

In 1877, Victor Hugo wrote, ” Nothing is more powerful than an idea whose time has come."  Herman Daly’s idea of steady state economy and the deadly effects of endless economic growth is such an idea. This new documentary beautifully tells the story of that idea. The realization that infinite economic growth on a finite planet is not possible is gaining traction among younger professionals. But a  radical change of an entire economic system seems like an impossibly difficult challenge. It will most likely take a major crisis – ecological, economic and political – to trigger it; and a lot of human suffering in the process.

 --Halina Brown and Philip Vergragt, founders, Sustainable Consumption Research and Action Initiative (SCORAI), Newton, MA

Sometimes the challenges of the world seem too large to make sense of, let alone tackle. This short, powerful film attends to that. It introduces one of the greatest thinkers in recent years - the ecological economist Herman Daly - and shows how his analysis and ideas for a steady state economy offer a way to grapple with the times we are in. Econoclast features some of the inheritors of his wisdom who outline the implications of Daly's work for decision makers today. And all accompanied by stunning visuals that capture the damage of our current system and the beauty that changing course might protect! It is a beautiful film that will carry Daly’s important message to the wider audiences who need to take it on board.

--Katherine Trebek, Co-founder, Wellbeing Economy Alliance, author, The Economics of Arrival,  Australian National University

At last! We now have a wonderful film about one of the greatest thinkers of our age. Herman Daly was a ‘prophet’ ahead of his time whose views have never been more relevant than today. Watch this film and you will see so clearly why infinite growth on a finite planet is impossible and what we need to do instead.

--Stewart Wallis Co-Chair WEAll, The Wellbeing Economy Alliance, United Kingdom.

Econoclast  offers a compelling treatment of the views of the iconoclastic economist, Herman Daly, and the increasing appeal and impact of his philosophy of steady-state economics in communities across the world. His film reorients us toward what really matters for a sustainable and democratic way of life in a time of tumultuous change. 

 --Harry C. Boyte, Co-chair, Braver Angels Civic Scholars Council, Founder and former Director, Center for Democracy and Citizenship, University of Minnesota

 The film beautifully captures the life and work of Herman Daly, and also features people who are carrying forward Daly's insights. Clearly, there is much more that needs to be done. More of us need to join these visionaries in picking up the baton that Daly carried to build an economy and society that respects nature and that heals the harm we humans have done. 

 --Marianna Grossman, Managing Partner of Minerva Ventures, climate solutions advisor, Portland, OR

What a revelation!   I hope not only that everyone running for elected office sees this film and reads or consults with one of the economists who are proponents of Daly’s no-growth economics.  More than that, I hope this film is seen on campuses, in libraries, and in discussion groups everywhere so that we can all come to grips with what our unquestioning adherence to the gospel of economic growth is doing to the planet that is our home.

--Deirdre Godfrey, Former anti-poverty organizer and teacher

Econoclast is a superb summary of the work of Herman Daly on the relationship of economics and sustainability to the current global human enterprise. The film explains how economics and environment are inseparable from each other and from the second law of thermodynamics. Daly pointed the way toward true sustainability, including maintaining that the wealthy have to give up some of what they have. I recommend it for both learning and inspiring action.

--Toby Thaler, environmental attorney and policy advocate, Seattle, WA 

YOUTH

With economics as a pillar of what we give and receive, reorienting the systems we've learned to one that is ecologically centered is a shift vital to mitigating the climate crisis, a reality many youth like me have been brutally faced with. Witnessing the degrading impacts of extractive economic models on ecosystems and foreign countries in this film further affirms to me that whatever we do to the planet, we do to ourselves and what we love.  I hope other young people will watch this film.   

--Ella Chaddock, sophomore, Southern Oregon University, Ashland, OR                                                        --

OTHER

A great mix of different types of storytelling and wonderful interviews and images!  It’s especially thrilling to hear the thoughts (and incredible tributes!) of Herman's colleagues and friends, who knew him well. Learning that they are continuing this work in effective and compelling ways was very inspirational and moving to me.  I know this film will reach many people and inspire real change-- what an incredible contribution! Dad would be so moved and delighted that new generations will  continue this crucial work! 

 --Karen Daly Junker, daughter of Herman Daly

Thirty years ago, John de Graaf called attention to the crisis of consumerism with his film AFFLUENZA.  Now he challenges our unsustainable obsession with economic growth in this biography of prescient economist Herman Daly.  This timely, clear and important film should be widely seen and its message taken to heart.

Betty Sue Flowers, professor emeritus, University of Texas, and former director, Lyndon Johnson Presidential Library

So inspirational and timely. In these critical times, revisiting Daly’s ideas illuminates a path toward an economic system that can promote equity and well-being while respecting ecological limits and recognizing the rights of other species on our planet. I hope this film reaches many hearts and minds and helps inspire the profound moral transformation of the assumptions that underpin public decision-making—something we so urgently need. Bravo! 

--Marina Cromberg, Florianopolis, Brazil, senior consultant, Center for International Forestry Research

As a colleague of Herman's who knew his work over a 40-year period, I appreciated the film greatly.  The narrative clearly spun the contributions Herman made into  a fascinating film about how to solve the major threats facing humanity . It was greatly augmented by the excellent photographs on point of the degradations and pollution-oriented activities and  abysmal human effects created by the excess of searching only for economic growth. The narrative went smoothly from the earlier Daly to the later Daly who had found his voice and clearly shouted the pathway forward to those willing to listen.  At the USA Club of Rome we find him irreplaceable. 

--Anitra Thorhaug, Co-President USA Club of Rome, 

A healthy economy requires a healthy planet!  Community leaders thirsting for meaningful and lasting economic transformation should start here: Watch and share this film about ecological economics, its insightful founder, and its compelling introduction to the growing community of practitioners ready and able to collaborate to build an economy that sustains the earth, its people and our very humanity! 

--- Dan Smith, former Vice President and editor, American Forests, Cheverly, MD

An important film! Econoclast supports Herman Daly's message with contemporary information delivered through an expertly woven account of our life today and voices of world economic experts. Daly, a a renowned professor and working member of the World Bank, outlines the path that can usher in needed change that must happen if humanity is to have a sustainable future.

--Howard Sprouse, Maintenance Specialist, Olympic National Park, Port Angeles, WA

I had the good fortune to learn from Herman Daly for a semester in grad school, and the new film, Econoclast, is a faithful representation of who he was, as a human and thinker, and a timely reminder of how much his analytical framework presaged today's deepening polycrisis. His core insight, that an economy is a subsystem of a finite biosphere and cannot grow forever within it, has only grown more relevant, yet mainstream economics has largely carried on as if none of it happened, still chasing GDP growth and consumption at all costs. This film offers a good survey of Daly's ideas and their influence, and draws out the lessons we urgently need to heed.

--Thomas L. Green, Senior Manager, Climate Solutions, the David Suzuki Foundation, Vancouver, BC