, Columnist
Economic Growth Shouldn’t Be a Death Sentence for Earth
But it does mean learning how to do more while using fewer resources.
First, do less harm.
Photographer: Manan Vatsyayana/AFPThis article is for subscribers only.
Among some intellectuals and environmentalists, it’s an article of faith that economic growth must be brought to a stop. If we fail to act, we’ll use up the planet’s resources and growth will suffer a disastrous collapse. For example, British writer George Monbiot has been advancing this point of view for quite some time. In April, he declared:
Monbiot is simply incorrect. There are good reasons, both theoretical and empirical, to believe that economic growth can be decoupled from resource use. For many resources, this is already becoming a reality.