An Alternative Perspective for Growth, Development, and Transformation

Conceptions of growth and development that underpin theories of economics, business management, and public policy are so deeply ingrained in our mindset that we rarely examine their main premises. For most of our lives, we are socialized into thinking that growth is good, that more growth is even better, and that continuous growth over time is divine. At the individual level, having more financial resources today than last year is progress. Business organizations typically measure their progress in terms of larger assets, higher profits, and a rising stock price. National governments grade their economic policies on growth in gross national income over time. All in all, more growth is good; to think otherwise is counterproductive, if not perverse, and perhaps even unpatriotic…