Inputs of low entropy resources into the economic process and outputs of high entropy waste from it are two unavoidable flows of our economic activities as long as we remain as bioeconomic beings on the earth. The true problem consists in the choice for the suitable speed of increase in entropy in the long run. The tremendous speed of increase in entropy is one of the most troublesome characteristics of modern technological systems with respect to the resource and environmental constraint menacing the existence of humans on the earth.
The main purpose of this study is to clarify this characteristic both in terms of two types of physical efficiency and in terms of four variations of the law of diminishing returns. Georgescu-Roegen’s emphasis on matter as well as energy and his Fourth Law of Thermodynamics will be reinforced by these concepts. Georgescu-Roegen’s theory will be also compared with Tsuchida’s water cycle theory which emphasizes the openness of the earth with respect to energy. The implication of these two theories for the steady state of the earth is also discussed. Final section gives some implications of this study for our future economic system.
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