ABSTRACT
No-growth societies—those that experience very little increase in population or per capita income or production—have, historically, been bottom heavy with poor people. The so-called “traditional societies” are the only examples we know. They have emphasized ecological balance and man’s accommodation to the forces of nature. Many people consider rapid expansion of production and reproduction to require some special (cultural if not racial) blessings such as the Protestant Ethic, the Spirit of Capitalism, and the Industrial Revolution. Are we now to have a no-growth society composed of rich people or of some mixture of economic classes that includes a substantial number of rich people? The noted British socialist, Anthony Crosland, has stated that the current champions of the no-growth society
