Growth is measured by an increasing Gross Domestic Product (GDP) and is what drives government policies around the world. Growth equals prosperity and jobs. There is this myth around that the economy can grow for ever. This myth has grown up since the late 1940s.
But, hang on a minute. The planet has a limit to what it can grow, the amount of people, plants and animals it can support. The resources of the biosphere are finite and we’re probably already passed the ecological limits of growth. We’ve fouled the planet with our wastes and threatened the natural systems on which all species depend. The planet’s ecosystems are struggling to support us hence the reason why an ecological footprint has got such traction with those of us who care. It’s reckoned that since the 1980s we’ve been using the planets capital not its interest.
And growth doesn’t help reduce poverty or inequality. The richest 20 per cent consumes the lion’s share of resources leaving the poorest 80 per cent scrambling for crumbs. We’re living shorter, unhealthier and unhappier lives addicted to mindless consumerism (do you really need that latest iPhone?) that is depleting the planet’s resources.
The economy should be seen as a subset of the environment not the other way round. We need to achieve “zero growth” in our economy that helps the biosphere. Renewable resources should only be extracted at rates that don’t exceed regeneration. As increased GDP is not a guarantee of more jobs perhaps we must change the way we work by sharing jobs allowing people more free time to restore the balance between work and home.
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