The concept of growth is fundamental to our ideas of economic activity, but its obvious that unlimited growth cannot continue for ever in a finite world. Sustainability suggests stability of population and production, perhaps with lower consumption, presumably not too distant from where we are now but with more equal distribution across the world. Same cake, more equal slices. This means more for the poor and less for the rich. What do you think about this? How might it be achieved?

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Patrick O'Bryan on July 13, 2008, 1:43 AM

We could have done this 20,000, 2,000, 200, or 20 years ago and this world would be a significantly worse place to live. It is certainly not obvious that growth cannot continue for much longer. It would be unsustainable for a population of 7 billion and growing to live on this planet working in nothing but farming, logging, mining, and manufacturing, but the same population in a mainly service economy is a different story altogether. It is a telling fact that the most pressing problem of the poor in today’s America is not starvation, but obesity. We should focus less on the differences between the rich in 2008 and the poor in 2008 and more on the differences between the poor in 2008 and the poor in 1808 or in 8. This is the legacy of growth- a much higher standard of living for all. Also, have you read Atlas Shrugged? Ayn Rand has an intriguing prediction of what would happen if the fruits of the producers’ minds were charitably distributed according to the needs of others.
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Cory Sweetin on October 20, 2008, 5:52 PM

Growth and sustainability aren’t necessarily mutually exclusive. In Paul Hawkin’s book Natural Capitalism he consistently demonstrates how sustainable practices can lead to growth; usually by cutting costs. To be clear, I am for sustainablity over growth but first lets try to implement sustainable practices that are palatable to growth-centric businesses. Although time is of the essence, evolution into a new industrial age is going to have to be a process.

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