21st c. conundrum: Sustainable economy

In the midst of this global crisis more and more people are asking themselves, their governments, companies and experts of every ilk: what can we do to make our economy sustainable?

Its going to be the big question of this century. Just like industrialization was back in the 19th c. or getting to grips with globalization was what defined the 20th c. Its clear that the traditional liberal economic model just doesn't cut it. Double digit growth, every year? Come on, it doesn't take a genius to realize no company can keep growing like that forever. For the simple reason that the world, and all it contains, is finite. And, apparently, according to recent findings even the idea that the universe is in constant expansion is not completely correct. But I digress.

Ofcourse, I am no expert. I haven't studied economics, nor do I have an MBA under my belt, so all this is what I've gathered from "free reading", rather than from an academic course of study, which doesn't make my observations all that reliable. And my opinions are but partly formed, and undoubtably biased (though I am trying! So any good reading recommendations are welcome). But I do think we should ALL join this debate and make our voice heard.

I have a proposition on where to begin. Given how, despite all their economic majors, MBAs and PhDs , their research, data, etc., the experts at think tanks, the World Bank, the European Union, Goldman Sachs, CNN, or Standard and Poors, to name but a few, were unable to predict the real scope of the current recession, it might not be so far fetched to "go back to basics". Bring everyone into the debate and listen to the ideas of people, not just "experts".

Maybe it wouldn't hurt to stop making complicated economic models that no one - not even some experts - understand. Would it be so bad if economists began talking with words the laymen and women could understand? That would allow them to be more active in a debate that affects us all. And maybe, just maybe it could bring people from other walks of life, and their ideas, into it. Instead of trying to prove how smart they are by creating a parallel vocabulary (and accounting system!!!) that few outside the "club of the initiated" (and sometimes not even they) can comprehend. Maybe, if that happened, a man like Maddof could not get away with what he did for so long, not could Greece have "doctored" their books for so long... Just a thought, from a VERY laywoman!!!