‘Born in the corridors of the OECD’: the forgotten origins of the Club of Rome, transnational networks, and the 1970s in global history

Abstract

This article re-examines a contested chapter in the international and environmental history of the 1970s. Even though largely neglected by historical research and in the public memory, the Club of Rome – widely remembered for its 1972 report The limits to growth – was not only born within the OECD, but was also in its early period strongly influenced by debates within this think tank of the industrialized countries. Using previously overlooked sources, this article analyses this highly unlikely OECD–Club of Rome nexus. It not only offers a privileged view into the social history of international policy-making and the related personal entanglements and ideological transfers at a key moment of post-war history. It also demonstrates that the social, intellectual, and economic turmoil of the late 1960s prompted a rethinking of the economic growth paradigm, even within those technocratic institutions that had aspired to guide the post-war industrial growth regime. The article argues that these links are not only vital for our understanding of the relationship between acquisitive growth capitalism and environmentalism, but also enable a more profound understanding of the role of transnational networks in global history and the appreciation of the place of the 1970s in world history.

Investigating the Use of Sustainability and Sustainable Development by the City of Toronto Through a 30-Year Document Analysis

“…The Club of Rome, a non-profit, non-government organization made up academics, the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), UN bureaucrats, and high-ranking politicians and economists (i.e. David Rockefeller) arose in 1968 (Schmelzer, 2017) in attempt to foster better understanding of the global system and the economic, political, natural, and social interdependencies that it is made up of. The Limits to Growth (1972) was authored by several academics from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), such as Donella and Dennis Meadows, Jørgen Randers, and William Behrens III, to name a few.…”

“…The complex relationship between the OECD, The Club of Rome, and global development is important but much to expansive to be acknowledged here. In any case, Schmelzer (2017) provides a comprehensive historical review and analysis of what he describes as the "OECD-Club of Rome nexus" which is helpful for further contextual understanding.…”

Bringing Class Analysis Back in: Assessing the Transformation of the Value-Nature Nexus to Strengthen the Connection Between Degrowth and Environmental Justice

“…On the other hand, a classic example of conflicts against abstract social nature is the politicization of the ecological crisis as presented in the 1972 Club of Rome Limits to Growthwhich was itself prompted by the social turmoil of '68 (Schmelzer, 2017) and diffused by environmentalist movements especially after the Oil Shock. Even more important, however, was the myriad instances of feminist struggles which destroyed the double process of naturalization and invisibilization that relegated domestic labourmostly performed by womenin the subordinated realm of reproduction (Federici, 2012(Federici, [1975).…”

« Après la croissance – Controverses autour de la production et de l’usage des indicateurs alternatifs au PIB »

“…Si l'OCDE a été l'instance de diffusion du « paradigme de la croissance » après-guerre, c'est également dans les « couloirs » de l'organisation que naît le Club de Rome(Schmelzer 2017). Pendant quelques années, l'institution va devenir la caisse de résonance d'un nouveau…”