ABSTRACT
This chapter examines various objections to continuous economic growth on a finite planet, with particular emphasis on the inappropriateness of GDP as an indicator of progress and social well-being. Support for the universal commitment to the unlimited expansion of the global economy is scrutinized and the conclusion is presented that political expedience, moral convenience, and a distorted view of freedom all help to explain the persistence of the growth paradigm. The second half of this chapter outlines the practical considerations which must be considered in the construction of a new metanarrative, and new economic relations. These include a renovation of the concept of sustainable development, an explication of the ‘rules of the road’ which must obtain in the wake of transformative change, and a cognitive shift from Newtonian mechanics to a better understanding of the causal features of complex adaptive systems.
