The 25 March 08 Wall Street Journal published an extensive article on the rise in commodity prices and Limits to Growth. Have a look.
For a fun visual of the "Growth is Always Good" paradigm, have a look at the Opus comic strip for Sunday 23 March. It describes well the "growth is always good" paradigm.
Growing world economies is the historical solution to poverty. Should economists and humanitarians seek a new strategy? How could we redefine growth so it wouldn't have the negative consequences of resource depletion and environmental destruction?
Thursday, March 27, 2008
Growth is Always Good?
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5 comments:
It's great to see you discussing such vital issues as consumption (Story of Stuff) and perpetual economic growth. Keep it up!
Dave Gardner
Producer/Director
Hooked on Growth: Our Misguided Quest for Prosperity
www.growthbusters.com
People are still going to need food, water, health care, etc. Some increase in resources will be needed to raise living standards. maybe the commodity price increases will drive folks to provide these needs in a more efficient manner and manage the increases in resource use.
We WILL have to be more efficient, but if we wait for prices to increase before we change our infrastructure, billions of people (primarily the poorest people) will suffer (or continue to suffer) because they can't afford necessities or opportunities.
Alternatively, if we recognize the need for change now and absorb the costs of changing our infrastructure NOW, we might possibly be able to avoid some of the suffering and unforseen consequences of waiting (until it's too late?)
Certainly countries such as China are already expanding their infrastructures. Looks like they are not waiting for the more perfect solutions...
...which is, in part, why global food and energy prices are rising. Global demand is increasing faster than improved efficiency and sustainable methodologies. I guess now we hope that the higher prices will stimulate enough people to invest in improved efficiencies and sustainable practices that will be necessary to ensure that the world can continue to supply people with the resources they need...
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