Introduction
In European aristocratic societies, lands were often passed down from ‘generation to generation without being divided’ (Tocqueville 2010V1, 116). It was widely accepted that the ‘family spirit’ was ‘embodied in the land,’ which meant it had to be preserved and kept intact across generations (ibid.).
That is to say, ‘the family represents the land; the land represents the family; the land perpetuates its name, origin, glory, power and virtues’ (ibid.). Meanwhile, in democratic America, people’s ancestors came from many different parts of the world, which meant ‘the family no longer enters the mind except as something vague, indeterminate, and uncertain’ (ibid.). Also, contrary to the aristocratic societies of Europe, land in the US was regularly divided, because it was not attached to memory, pride, or ambition; it was simply bought or sold for economic purposes (ibid.). Basically, each person in America focuses on the interests, prosperity, and ‘present convenience’ of the current generation, in addition to ‘the establishment of the generation immediately following, and nothing more’ (ibid.). Consequently, natural resources were regarded as mere factors of production to be used and exploited for the acquisition of material gains and profits in the early days of democratic America. At that time, little consideration was given to the notion of protecting, cultivating, or caring for the environment in order to preserve it for future generations.Theorist of the German Historical School of Economics (GHSE) and their American students recognized the importance of protecting the natural environment and conserving natural resources. In fact, the necessity of addressing environmental problems and preserving natural resources for the sake of humanity was ‘first clearly recognized in Germany and has been taught and practiced there’ by adherents of the historical school since 1860 (Hess 1917, 113). This chapter explains that early efforts to protect the environment and natural resources in the US originated in the work of the New School, whose members were concerned that destructive business practices that led to deforestation, the erosion of soil, oil and gas pollution, and the depletion of mineral reserves could have detrimental social and economic consequences and possibly lead to climate change. This chapter also explains how they tried to find remedies to such issues in order to help conserve the environment for current and future generations.