ORIGINAL RESEARCH article
Front. Environ. Sci.
Sec. Environmental Economics and Management
Economic analysis based on the dual constraint assumption of resources and needs from the perspective of ecological civilization
Provisionally accepted
Zhenkun Wei*
Yachen Wu- Shanghai Maritime University, pudong, China
Select one of your emails
You have multiple emails registered with Frontiers:
Notify me on publication
Please enter your email address:
If you already have an account, please login
You don't have a Frontiers account ? You can register here
Western economics is founded on the theoretical premise of "limited resources and unlimited needs", which underpins its entire theoretical system. Socioeconomic activities guided by this assumption feature overexploitation of natural resources, severe environmental damage, over-satisfaction of the unreasonable needs of a small number of wealthy groups, unmet reasonable needs of ordinary laborers, and a widening wealth gap. Building on Cheng Enfu’s "double constraint hypothesis of resources and needs", this study proposes the innovative Marxist political economy-oriented "double constraint theory of resources and needs". It requires human economic behavior to be based on both limited resources and limited needs, providing scientific theoretical guidance for rational resource development, efficient utilization, and maximum satisfaction of reasonable needs, while contributing to man-nature harmony. Addressing existing research limitations, the study achieves three key innovations: first, formalizing the theoretical framework by constructing mathematical models for consumer utility maximization, producer resource allocation, and macro general equilibrium, turning qualitative discussions into quantifiable tools; second, operationalizing constraint conditions through measurable indicators such as the Ecological Carrying Capacity Index (ECI) and Basic Need Satisfaction Rate (BNR), converting abstract principles into hard decision-making constraints; third, integrating static and dynamic perspectives to derive the technological progress-driven dynamic evolution path of dual constraints. Compared with single-constraint theories, its core contribution lies in treating resources (ecology) and needs (equity + productivity) as two-way hard constraints, avoiding the one-sidedness of relying solely on technological breakthroughs for resource constraints or market regulation for demand constraints.
Keywords: Double constraints, Ecological harmony, Needs to be met, Resource Allocation, Social fairness and justice, sustainable development
Received: 28 Oct 2025; Accepted: 07 Jan 2026.
Copyright: © 2026 Wei and Wu. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.
* Correspondence: Zhenkun Wei
Disclaimer: All claims expressed in this article are solely those of the authors and do not necessarily represent those of their affiliated organizations, or those of the publisher, the editors and the reviewers. Any product that may be evaluated in this article or claim that may be made by its manufacturer is not guaranteed or endorsed by the publisher.