Spaceship Earth — A Total Institution

The concept of Earth as a planetary spaceship serves as a root metaphor of ecological economics, sustainability science, and the broader environmental movement. This article first explores the origins of this metaphor and elucidates the core components and functions of a hypothetical Spaceship Earth. It then draws on Erving Goffman's characteristics of total institutions to show that such a spaceship would epitomise the most total institution ever known in human history. Acknowledging the continued influence of spaceship thinking, the article concludes by offering first hints to emergency exits from a planetary total institution with no mission other than orbiting another celestial body.