Economic Growth, the Elephant in the Room by Aidan Rankin

“Economic growth has effectively become an official religion. Growth is the altar before which it is legitimate to sacrifice any number of individual livelihoods, along with local communities, cultural diversity and all manner of skills, craftsmanship and accumulated wisdom. The planet itself has become the ultimate sacrificial victim, for the principles of conservation and growth are diametrically opposed and the gulf between them is growing . . . . . we need to learn to consume less.”

“The critic of growth is portrayed as standing between the world’s poor and material liberation. Growth is identified with opportunity and choice for all, with ‘the future’ and historical inevitability.”

“Critics of growth are accused of denying their fellow humans the inalienable right to ever-increasing living standards, regardless of the planetary or social costs.”

“Many economists and more thoughtful politicians from all parties are profoundly worried by the environmental and social impact of continuous growth. But few dare to challenge the orthodoxies of development and progress head-on. Few bring themselves to think the apparently unthinkable — that growth itself is the root of the problem.”

“He claimed to be unable to ‘live’ without a plasma television screen . . . My friend’s inability to ‘live’ without the latest consumer goods (the products of economic growth) can be likened to a heroin user’s craving for the next fix. Like the addict, his satisfaction is only ever fleeting, but to feed his habit he will risk financial meltdown. This process crosses the divisions of class and income, and is replicated on a global scale as poorer regions struggle to catch up with the West.”

“The drug addict thinks in the short term, forgetting about the harm to his or her body or the destruction of friendship, love and trust that the habit inevitably entails. In the same way, the growth addict ignores the damage to the planet and the erosion of any sense of civilised community that arises from the relentless drive for economic expansion. The products of growth never satisfy the individual, and the pursuit of growth makes societies increasingly dysfunctional and destroys the possibility of global co-operation. Growth creates the illusion of potential abundance, but makes inevitable a dog-eat-dog competition for ever-more scarce resources. The principal casualty is the planet and the only true beneficiaries are economic elites.”

“Such an approach prolongs the delusion that we can tackle climate change, protect fragile ecosystems and the rights of indigenous peoples, or preserve local economies from the homogenising forces of globalisation — and still have a growth-based economy.”

“To put it simply, we need to learn to consume less.”

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Keywords : economic growth,progress, capitalism, ecosocial crisis, life style, consumerism, materialism
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