In a traditional view on economy many people in the west have been thinking that growth equals prosperity. Although this notion might be deeply rooted in current day society we have to let it go in perspective to our future.
The way our economy is based on credit defines the fact that it must constantly grow. This growth needs surplus energy and material, as does prosperity. In his crash course Chris Martenson illustrates this with an example:
Imagine that you are a family of four, your yearly income is $40,000, and at the end of the year there is no money left – at the end of the year, there are zero extra dollars. But then a 10% raise comes along, which equals $4,000, and your family can EITHER afford to have one more child OR you can enjoy additional prosperity by spending a little bit more on each person. But you can’t do both. There is only enough surplus money in this example to do one thing, so you have to choose – will it be growth, or will it be additional prosperity? And what is true for a family of four is equally true for a town, a state, a country, and, yes, our entire world.
In the past we have been taking enough to both grow and become more prosperous, this is why we have come to believe that prosperity and growth are actually the same. However, we live on a planet with a limited amount of resources available. If we choose to keep growing our current economy, it will mean we will eventually run out of resources to improve prosperity. This leads me to conclude that growth and prosperity are actually not the same.
It is important to realize this if we want to halt our current direction. After all, we should strive to improve the quality of our lives, not the quantity of things.