Sharp contrasts exist between ecological economics and green economy. Green economy represents a serious effort to "green" the existing economy by using different instruments from the toolbox of market economics. Ecological economics argue that it is necessary to make changes at the systemic level, if we are to understand and solve serious problems such as climate change, the increasing gap between rich and poor, financial scandals, war, and terrorism. From the perspective of Imre Lakatos' (1922–1974) contributions to the philosophy of science, we argue that green economy, on the one hand, represents changes in the protective belt in order to defend mainstream economy's hard core, growth, competition, and strategic planning. On the other hand, ecological economics question the hard core and suggests a deeper change towards, development, cooperation, and partnership approach. To enlighten the tension between these two different approaches, we look at the work of Karl Mannheim (1883–1947) who distinguished between ideology and utopia as driving forces in societal development. The tension between green economy and ecological economics generates both energy and direction in the change processes.