ABSTRACT
The future of economic growth is one of the decisive challenges of the twenty-first century. Although a highly ambivalent and elusive term, the semantic core of economic growth is statistically fixed. It is generally defined as the annual increase in the Gross National Product (GNP) or Gross Domestic Product (GDP). This chapter first discusses the external limits to economic growth, in particular resources, climate change, and land. It then explores what might be conceptualized as internal limits related to secular stagnation, prosperity, and equality. Finally, the chapter presents some historical perspectives on current debates about societies beyond economic growth by drawing out key arguments of the contributions to this volume. It also includes case studies of alternative approaches to economic wellbeing that would be helpful to understand the alternatives available to us in the present and the future.
