Let’s face it. We live on a finite planet: our resources are finite, our space is limited and our very environment has its limits as well. Can the earth sustain endless growth? Obviously not. Yet this knowledge is mostly ignored — especially at election time. Not only are politicians in denial but the public refuse to entertain the fact that growth cannot go on forever. We can’t blame politicians for this either because challenging economic growth is sure to lead to defeat at the polls. So the problem gets kicked down the road. What is economic growth anyway? And why does the dogma of the growth imperative persist? First, putting aside the fact that infinite growth is unsustainable, many things that increase economic growth actually have a negative impact on human existence, such as wars and materialist over-consumption. Good things that have a positive impact on life, such as a walk in the park, does nothing to increase economic growth. What we really need is a better way of gauging a healthy economy -- not to go on using the GDP figure or a graph showing a steep growth level. Most important of all is that public discourse will have to address this as well. “The only thing necessary for the triumph of evil is that good men do nothing”. John Kennedy has attributed the quote, perhaps wrongly, to Edmond Burke, the 18th century Irish philosopher and statesman. The quote is judged by The Oxford Dictionary of Quotations as the most popular quote of modern times. So lets start the conversation. Here’s a good place to start: This book by Richard Heinberg, “The End Of Growth”, presents a very good analysis of the natural limits of economic growth. And some thoughtful solutions. HERE is an interview with Heinberg. This is not a great looking video but listen to what he's saying. Economist Jeff Rubin and environmentalist David Suzuki talk HERE about the natural limits to growth from their very different perspectives on the CBC’s “Ideas” program on July 2013. I think maybe Rubin is right when he says “what we need is triple digit oil prices”.
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