growth is the enemy of humankind

[xchrom]

http://www.nationofchange.org/growth-enemy-humankind-1358432599



Politicians, lobbyists and corporate media talking heads, and far too many ordinary people, have accepted and are promoting as gospel the circular notion that it’s important to encourage business to grow so that people will be hired and the economy can grow. This specious argument is used to justify the weakening labor unions, the raising of taxes on workers while they are cut for companies and the rich, the cutting of earned benefit programs like Social Security and Medicare, the gutting worker safety and environmental safety regulations, and the elimination of regulation of activities like banking, corporate mergers and takeovers, pharmaceutical companies etc. In fact every government action that results in making life harder or more dangerous for ordinary working people or for the poor is defended on the basis that it is necessary so that business can make more profit and help the economy to grow.

Growing the economy, however, is not, or certainly should not, be the reason we have government, the reason we are a country, or the reason we are a society.

The Declaration of Independence had it right when, in its inspiring preamble, it aroused a nation of rebels by espousing the inalienable rights of “life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness.” Period.

And growth today poses a direct threat to all three of those stated goals.

[cantbeserious]

1. In Enlightened Business Circles - Many Discussions On Being Profitable In A Low Or Zero Growth World

eom

[bemildred]

2. Growth is the enemy of stability.

I am amused by economic theorizers of stability based on growth. To ask for perpetual growth is to ask for chaos, disorder.

[ananda]

3. In bodily terms, too much growth is a killer cancer.

.. And as true of societies as it is of bodies.

[bemildred]

4. Thank you, it's true anywhere you go, it's true in math.

Stable systems are bounded, have limits, even such things as strange attractors have limits, they exist in a little box in 3 space.

[el_bryanto]

5. I'm not sure I follow the argument

Wanting Businesses to recover and wanting the economy to recover so that there will be more employment is not a good goal? I mean if businesses are operating minimally and the economy is depressed, what term should we use to say we would like it if things were more healthy and more people were employed?

I want the economy to return to to health, I want unemployment to be better. Unless you are advocating a shift to a non-capitalist economy, than that's going to happen with businesses getting more healthy.

To be fair, I also favor strong Government Regulations, and worker protections, as well as a strong economic safety net.

Bryant