Every society clings to a myth by which it lives. Ours is the myth of economic growth. For the last five decades the pursuit of growth has been the single most important policy goal across the world. The global economy is almost five times the size it was half a century ago. If it continues to grow at the same rate the economy will be 80 times that size by the year 2100.
This has no historical precedent and is at odds with scientific knowledge of the finite resource base and the fragile ecology on which everyone depends for survival. It has already been accompanied by the degradation of an estimated 60% of the world’s ecosystems.
The reality of these numbers is avoided and it is assumed that - financial crises aside – growth will continue indefinitely. Not just for the poorest countries, where a better quality of life is undeniably needed, but even for the richest nations where wealth adds little to happiness and is beginning to threaten the foundations of wellbeing.
The reasons for this collective blindness are easy enough to find. The modern economy is structurally reliant on economic growth for its stability. When growth falters – as it has done recently – politicians panic, businesses struggle, people lose their jobs and a spiral of recession looms. Questioning growth is deemed to be the act of lunatics, idealists and revolutionaries. The myth of growth has failed in particular the two billion people who still live on less than $2 a day. It has failed the fragile ecological systems on which everyone depends for survival. It has failed to provide economic stability and secure people’s livelihoods.
