One of the most dangerous “progressive” ideas loose in the world (and especially academia) is that we can and should cut back on economic growth and have experts manage a “sustainable” economy. In this Discourse article, Veronique de Rugy vigorously defends the importance of economic growth.
She shows that economic growth brings “higher living standards, better health and safety, and more fairness in the American political system.”
Correct. And if we don’t have economic growth, the stagnation will mean increasing poverty (but of course that won’t affect the well-heeled people who are pushing the anti-growth agenda) and less innovation.
She argues against the lunatic “degrowth” idea that’s now fashionable among lefty intellectuals.
A point I’d like to add is that economic growth is not a planned governmental policy, but rather an unplanned consequence of freedom. Free people naturally seek, as Adam Smith pointed out, to improve their circumstances by producing goods and services desired by others. With millions of people pursuing their interests, the inevitable result is increasing production and the most efficient use of limited resources. To have “degrowth,” you must have comprehensive governmental power suppressing the natural inclination of people to produce and exchange. The end result of this must be a totalitarian state. It won’t be benign.
Those who don’t want economic growth don’t want freedom either.