The American anthropocene: Economic scarcity and growth during the great acceleration

Abstract

The anthropocene is an increasingly important lens through which to observe relationships between natural resource exploitation, economic growth, and the consequent ecological impacts these entail. However, there has been little work that specifically addresses the postwar 'great acceleration' of economic growth, resource extraction and environmental impacts as a qualitatively distinct moment of the anthropocene. This paper uncovers the impact of the US President's Materials Policy Commission (PMPC), more commonly known as the Paley Commission after its Chairman, William S. Paley. It does so in order to address the key, but currently little studied issues of the timing, institutional development, sociotechnical and conceptual underpinnings of the great acceleration. The Paley Commission's 1952 report Resources for Freedom: Foundations for Growth and Security was crucial to the development of a globe spanning US-led 'growth paradigm', the rapid expansion in fossil fuel extraction and use that powered this growth, and ultimately helped spark the great acceleration of a distinctly American anthropocene age.