Wendell Berry's Faustian Economics

In Faustian Economics author Wendell Berry has a very pessimistic view about American society. Berry states that Americans are in a “collective delusion of grandeur”, meaning that as a culture we are extremely wasteful and greedy. Berry cites that modern American society has become arrogant, believing that natural resources are limitless.
Berry accurately points out that as a species we have elevated ourselves to that of god-like beings (pg 8). We want to live without limits and to consume more energy and resources in order obtain more knowledge. However, Berry claims that we also need wisdom in conjunction with knowledge in order to use technology more effectively. He states that is it foolish to obtain knowledge that we ourselves don’t fully understand. If we do not understand the knowledge, we may apply it in an unfavorable manner which will be dangerous (pg 5).
Berry states that Americans must return to a state of humility. In order to progress we must ironically place limits ourselves. Berry states that as a society we mistake limits as “confidments” ( pg 8). As a whole, we must accept the fact that there are natural limits on how much the human race can expand. These limits allow us to survive in a balanced world. In reality, limits do not hinder progress, allow us to utilize our resource and wisdom to natural fullness.