Introduction: Theoretical glasses
A theory can be understood as a particular type of glasses, which make it possible to see certain things while other things disappear. The glasses are, therefore, decisive in terms of what you are able to see. While the other sections present theoretical glasses that focus on what could be called the core subject matter of ecological economics, this section contains examples of theoretical perspectives that are not specifically about the environment. Ecological economics is inspired by and draws on different understandings originally developed within other theoretical schools. This applies to both general understandings such as systems thinking, which cut across academic disciplines and more specific theories from other economic schools that differ from mainstream economic theory such as classical institutional economics.
