ISBN: 9781890132163 Year Added to Catalog: 1999 Book Format: Paperback Book Art: graphs, notes, sources, index Number of Pages: 6 x 9, 256 pages Book Publisher: Chelsea Green Publishing Old ISBN: 1890132160 Release Date: September 1, 1999 Web Product ID: 104
My own view is that human beings have evolved to be ambitious, and are ambitious to evolve. We continually seek security, comfort, novelty, adventure, expression, understanding, and meaning, and this search drives a continuous process of change in all cultures. Development is the never-ending quest for the true, the good, and the beautiful in human life. It can never be stopped, because the urge to develop is part of what makes us human. But Development can, and must, be guided in directions that do not equate to runaway Growth, do not undermine Nature, and do not cause the World to collapse.
In the simplest terms, then, Growth means increases in quantity, and Development means improvements in quality, and that is the critical distinction between these two words in the pages that follow. The stories, ruminations, arguments, and prescriptions in this book rest on two fundamental assumptions:
There are limits to Growth. The Earth is a closed system, and it can support only a finite number of human beings. The limits to Growth include limitations in land and soil for food production; available water; renewable resources such as trees and fish; industrial resources such as oil; social stability; and the capacity of Nature to absorb our wastes. Unless Growth ceases, one or all of these limits will be crossed, resulting in a series of worsening “shocks to the system” and potentially a full-fledged collapse, as human beings struggle with each other and Nature to protect their lives and their livelihoods. Mountains of scientific evidence suggest that some limits have already been crossed. Given these conditions, Growth cannot continue much longer.
There are no limits to Development. The way we live can always be made better: more beautiful, more inventive, more creative, more efficient, more fulfilling. Technologies can be radically and continuously improved. Humans can learn, change, adapt and evolve, often with astonishing rapidity. We can repair most of the damage we have caused, restore some of what has been lost, reinvent the systems on which we depend for survival. We have transformed ourselves and our civilizations many times in the past, at both large scales and small; we are doing so now; and we will do so over and over again. Since there is no limit on humanity’s capacity to evolve, Development can go on virtually forever.
Navigating this critical transition, away from “Growth equals Development” and toward “Development without Growth,” is the great challenge of our generation, and must become humanity’s fundamental project for the early 21st century.
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