«David Goalstone is an extraordinary economist whose focus on the economics of survival, long overdue, indeed has come. The focus for Goalstone’s research is the subsistence economy, the economy of necessity and sufficiency, and the effort to develop an economics of survival. His approach is highly original, relating to the very foundations of economics. A basic thesis can be formulated as follows: there is an economy of subsistence and an economy of middle class growth, and one does not necessarily lead to the other. Goalstone has shown a way of filling in that gap, taking up old themes in the science of economics, back to Mirabeau/Quesnay, Steuart, Smith and Malthus. Every page is filled with originality, drawing on his rich experience. The book, indeed filling a gap, deserves a huge readership.»
– Johan Galtung,Founder-Director of TRANSCEND: A Peace and Development Network
«Goalstone brings a much-needed fresh look at the conditions for economic success at the level of whole societies. Examining issues as diverse as population dynamics, political change, and the economic conditions for the reproduction of societies, he challenges us to re-evaluate our foundational beliefs regarding the conditions for economic development.’
– Jack A. Goldstone, Hazel Professor of Public Policy, George Mason University
