What is growthism?

Our belief in human superiority drives our constant pursuit of eternal growth, of both our population and our economy. Yet expanding inequality, wildlife extinctions, climate change and global conflict prove that we continue along this path at our own peril. Our growth-based economic system and our ideology of “development” are rooted in the colonial takeover of native people and lands globally, and have led to an immense loss of traditional knowledge and cultural systems as well as destruction of the natural world.

Unlimited growth is not possible on a finite planet.

Social injustice

Our expanding population and consumption come at the expense of nonhuman animals and nature, as well as the majority of humanity not fortunate enough to have basic material security. While those at the top arrived there by consuming a disproportionate share of Earth’s gifts, the rest are left to survive on what’s left.

The rapid growth of the global middle class is taking a toll on the most vulnerable. Unemployment, as well as inadequate housing, infrastructure and schools are already the reality for growing populations with little or no clean water or sanitation.

At the same time, encroachment by people into previously wild habitats has led to the spread of new diseases to humans, as deforestation, habitat fragmentation, and the bushmeat trade bring humans into greater contact with wildlife.

New norms of sufficiency and well-being 

To replace the dominant global mindset of perpetual growth as the remedy for poverty, inequality, and social injustice, we must embrace the natural world and see ourselves with a web of social and ecological diversity. Redistribution of the wealth that is currently hoarded by the few is an essential step toward socioeconomic equality.

Yet it still leaves us in ecological overshoot. We must move toward new norms of sufficiency, a smaller population and economies focused on collective well-being and ecological limits.