Does Economic Growth Lead to Ecological Ruin?

The “degrowth” movement argues that the endless appetite for economic growth is destroying the planet. But are its proposals realistic?

• The idea that economic growth is good is taken as obviously true, and it’s the basis for how we organize our politics and societies across most of the world.
• But a growing ecological movement is calling the capitalist dogma of unending economic growth into question.
• Activists in the “degrowth” movement argue that the only way to halt climate catastrophe is to stop the rising consumption that is at the center of our economic model.
• The notion that we can employ “green growth” technologies to grow while lessening our environmental impact is deluded, they argue; if we want to save the planet, we will have to make do with less.
• The degrowth idea extends way beyond ecology. The push for endless growth, its advocates say, is making human beings unhappy. A new economic model, they say, would be good for us and the planet.
• Of course, this idea has sharp critics. Advanced economies, these critics say, have already shown it’s possible to use technology to continue to grow while reducing environmental harm.