Photo: Erosion of the Loess Plateau, northwest of Xi'an, China. Copyright 2007 Delena Norris-Tull
Economic Growth is Not Always Beneficial
As in the biological sciences, Capra concludes that the social sciences are also dominated by a reductionist paradigm. “Present-day economics is characterized by the fragmentary and reductionist approach that typifies most social sciences. Economists generally fail to recognize that the economy is really one aspect of a whole ecological and social fabric; a living system composed of human beings in continual interaction with one another and with their natural resources, most of which are, in turn, living organisms” (Capra, 1982, p. 188).
“An economy is a continually changing and evolving system, dependent on the changing ecological and social systems in which it is embedded. To understand it we need a conceptual framework that is also capable of change and continual adaptation to new situations” (Capra, p. 190).
“Most of today’s economic thought is based on the notion of undifferentiated growth. The idea that growth can be obstructive, unhealthy, or pathological is not entertained. What we urgently need, therefore, is differentiation and qualification of the concept of growth. From excessive production and consumption in the private sector, growth will have to be channeled into public service areas such as transportation, education, and health care. And this change will have to be accompanied by a fundamental shift of emphasis from material acquisition to inner growth and development.
“There are three closely interrelated dimensions of growth in most industrial societies - economic, technological, and institutional. Continuing economic growth is accepted as a dogma by virtually all economists, who assume… that it is the only way to ensure that material wealth will trickle down to the poor. This ‘trickle-down’ model of growth has long been shown to be unrealistic. High rates of growth not only do little to ease urgent social and human problems but in many countries has been accompanied by increasing unemployment and general deterioration of social conditions. Yet economists and politicians still insist on the importance of economic growth...
“The most severe consequence of continuing economic growth is the depletion of the planet’s natural resources” (Capra, 1982, p. 214-215).
In Social and Economic Development: A Bahá’í Approach, Holly Hanson Vick wrote, “Development… does not come only from financial resources. Development comes from the initiative, aspiration and innate capacities of people… Money does not always move that dynamic process forward; sometimes adding money kills the process completely... Material wealth without any corresponding spiritual and moral strengths only leads to emptiness and the debasement of human nature” (Vick, 1989, p. 90).
References:
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Economic Growth is Not Always Beneficial
As in the biological sciences, Capra concludes that the social sciences are also dominated by a reductionist paradigm. “Present-day economics is characterized by the fragmentary and reductionist approach that typifies most social sciences. Economists generally fail to recognize that the economy is really one aspect of a whole ecological and social fabric; a living system composed of human beings in continual interaction with one another and with their natural resources, most of which are, in turn, living organisms” (Capra, 1982, p. 188).
“An economy is a continually changing and evolving system, dependent on the changing ecological and social systems in which it is embedded. To understand it we need a conceptual framework that is also capable of change and continual adaptation to new situations” (Capra, p. 190).
“Most of today’s economic thought is based on the notion of undifferentiated growth. The idea that growth can be obstructive, unhealthy, or pathological is not entertained. What we urgently need, therefore, is differentiation and qualification of the concept of growth. From excessive production and consumption in the private sector, growth will have to be channeled into public service areas such as transportation, education, and health care. And this change will have to be accompanied by a fundamental shift of emphasis from material acquisition to inner growth and development.
“There are three closely interrelated dimensions of growth in most industrial societies - economic, technological, and institutional. Continuing economic growth is accepted as a dogma by virtually all economists, who assume… that it is the only way to ensure that material wealth will trickle down to the poor. This ‘trickle-down’ model of growth has long been shown to be unrealistic. High rates of growth not only do little to ease urgent social and human problems but in many countries has been accompanied by increasing unemployment and general deterioration of social conditions. Yet economists and politicians still insist on the importance of economic growth...
“The most severe consequence of continuing economic growth is the depletion of the planet’s natural resources” (Capra, 1982, p. 214-215).
In Social and Economic Development: A Bahá’í Approach, Holly Hanson Vick wrote, “Development… does not come only from financial resources. Development comes from the initiative, aspiration and innate capacities of people… Money does not always move that dynamic process forward; sometimes adding money kills the process completely... Material wealth without any corresponding spiritual and moral strengths only leads to emptiness and the debasement of human nature” (Vick, 1989, p. 90).
References:
- Capra, F. (1982). The Turning Point: Science, Society, and the Rising Culture. New York: Bantam Books.
- Vick, H.H. (1989). Social and Economic Development: A Bahá’í Approach. Oxford: George Ronald, Publisher.
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