Is Growth Always Good?

I recently had a conversation with a local farmer who reflected that the farm work he is able to complete before breakfast today, would have taken his father, in his time, the best part of a week to complete. Bigger, better-designed machines have made this possible. But that’s not all. Indeed the 400 HP tractor replaced the 40 HP tractor, but farmers and researchers also found ways of increasing crop yield more than four fold.

This is just one example of the efficiencies we have gained  in the last 100 years. So how have we all benefited from this increased efficiency? A single farmer today replaces ten farmers of yesteryear. What are the nine “surplus farmers” doing? Something good, I hope! Well some of these “farmers” are now working in a factory where they are building the tractors today’s farmer needs. Others are building roads, and others are marketing farm produce. That all seems to be good.

However, many of the displaced farmers are now working in factories making widgets we do not need. Others are working in the advertizing sector where they are trying to persuade us that we need the widgets that are being produced. And others are working at landfills where these widgets end up very shortly after they have been bought. Some have become doctors, doctors that deal primarily with diseases brought on by overeating and inactivity.

There are two ironies in the situation I have described. First, surely increased efficiency ought to result in increased leisure. Surely, time spent at leisure is better than time spent making unneeded widgets. That increased leisure should give parents more time with their children, teachers more time with their students and nurses more time with their patients. But we all know this has not happened. Parents, teachers and nurses all seem to have less time to do the things they know to be important.

The second irony is that as humans become more efficient in the use of their time, they of necessity replace human resources with other resources. Unfortunately most of the resources we end up using more of are of a finite nature, whether that be fossil fuel, steel, or some other resource. Tragically, as we humans become more efficient in the use of our time, we also become more effective in diminishing the resources our children will need if they are to enjoy the same good life we enjoy.

Those are the down sides. Nevertheless, apparently we believe all economic growth has been good for us and we want to keep it that way. The only alternative we know to economic growth is recession with unacceptable levels of unemployment and worse. So we avoid even thinking of alternatives.

Fortunately, there are an increasing number of economists and other thinkers exploring alternatives. One place alternatives are being explored is at the Centre for the Advancement of the Steady State Economy (CASSE).

James Johnston, an associate with CASSE will be making a presentation at the Eastman Education Centre October 27, 7:00PM. Join us and learn with us.

Eric Rempel