Mainstream economic thought of the 20th century has been dominated by the principle of ‘more is better'. This thinking is dangerously misguided. Concentrating on maximizing real gross national product has been brought about by economists who are working on the assumption that growth is always justified, because of the infinite wants of the population. These economists also see growth as a solution to the problems of the world today. Even those who propose ‘sustainable growth' are false in that they assume that it is possible to continue with the growth of the last two centuries. Some of the fallacies being put forth are growth as a solution to pollution, "trickle down" effect of growth needed to help the poor, and technological salvation. They feel the exponential growth of the present can continue as long as technology can keep up, and that resource efficiency can grow indefinitely so as to stabilize resource flow. By prioritizing ‘growth' alone, the global economy and its participants will be worse off. Common sense tells us that there is reasonable level at which everything must grow, beyond which it is considered detrimental to itself and its surroundings. Our economy is a subset of the ecosystem we live in, and must grow to proportions that are reasonable to it. It definitely cannot continue to grow outside of it, nor should it grow to a point where it is harmful to the ecosystem. The economy being dependent upon the ecosystem must adhere itself to achieving a state of compatibility with environment. More and more there are stress-induced feedback's from the ecosystem to the economy. The greenhouse effect, ozone depletion, acid rain, etc., that say even our present rate is unsustainable. So sustainable growth is contradictory in a finite, non-growing ecosystem. Yet there is never a mention of limits on economic growth. The sustainable economy must limit itself to a scale to which would allow the ecosystem t...
