Degrowth Kills People – Yes, Literally
- Media Manager
- Dec 19, 2023
- 2 min read
AIER - American Institute for Economic Research
Written By: Christohper Lingle & Emile Phaneuf
Published: December 19th, 2023
The mantra of “sustainable growth” has given way to a new narrative that points to “degrowth” as an imperative for human survival. Its proponents assert that it can save the planet, “unmake capitalism”, and even “enable societies to prosper without growth.” Perhaps driven by good intentions, proponents of “degrowth” are plotting a course that will diminish the possibilities of human flourishing in a world characterized by the conditions imposed by a scarcity of natural resources.
If we truly have empathy for the plight of humanity and the natural environment, we must unleash the creativity and innovation that has brought us to a point with the least amount of grinding poverty in history and guide us away from real or imagined catastrophes.
The assertion that pursuing anti-growth narratives is a response to “dwindling” natural resources is false and misleading, ignoring historical evidence to the contrary. What is overlooked is the existence of boundless human resources — ingenuity and the human spirit that have brought improvements in living standards to most of humanity throughout modern history.
In fact, the infinite resource of human ingenuity has pushed back boundaries that are otherwise imposed due to the amount of physical resources in the natural world. An insistence that the “dwindling” of resources requires a reduction of or a halt to growth overlooks that arguments for “peak oil” have been continuously pushed into some distant future timeframe.
Although success in the past in escaping the grips of scarcity is no guarantee of what the future will bring, it is a source of optimism in place of pessimistic predictions of the opponents of economic growth.
