ABSTRACT
The function of the economy and of democratic politics should be to allow for a good life for people, to better, not to worsen their situation. Economic growth is not only a play with numbers over time, it is a concept deeply engrained in the social imaginaries and socio-economic structures of Western, post-1945 societies. By reducing social conflicts, the prospect of steady economic growth also justified the privatisation of the good life. The society is considered modern when it operates in a mode of 'dynamic stabilisation', i.e. when it systematically requires growth, innovation and acceleration for its structural reproduction and in order to maintain its socio-economic and institutional status quo. The capitalistic mode of production is a central motor, but dynamic stabilisation extends well beyond the economic sphere. This chapter provides an overview of the key concepts discussed in the subsequent chapters of this book.
