Put in its simplest form the ‘dilemma of growth’ consists in two diametrically opposed propositions. • Growth is unsustainable – at least in its current form. Burgeoning resource consumption and rising environmental costs are compounding profound disparities in social wellbeing. • ‘De-growth’ is unstable – at least under present conditions.

Physical and mental health matter. Educational and democratic entitlements count. Trust, security and a sense of community are vital to wellbeing. Relationships matter. Meaningful employment and the ability to participate in the life of society appear to be important almost everywhere. People suffer physically and mentally when these things are

task of balancing individual freedoms against the common good. Governance mechanisms emerged in human society for precisely this reason.

general trend (and indeed the desired direction of travel) in capitalist economies is still quite clearly towards increasing labour productivity. Since this means producing the same quantity of goods and services with fewer people, the cycle creates a downward pressure on employment that’s only relieved if output increases. Efficiency quite

According to the UN Development Programme, incomes today are more unequal than at any time since the middle of the last century. In

Capitalist economies place a high emphasis on the efficiency with which inputs to production (labour, capital, resources) are utilised. Continuous improvements in technology mean that more output can be produced for any given input.27 Efficiency improvement stimulates demand by driving down costs and contributes to a positive cycle of expansion.

There is a kind of health ‘sweet spot’ on the upper left of the curve where high life expectancy is achieved at relatively low incomes. Life expectancy in Cuba, Costa Rica and Chile, for instance, is higher than life expectancy in the USA. Indeed, in Chile, which has an average per capita income of just $12,000 a year, life expectancy is higher

The rate of growth of overall impact (carbon emissions, say) is approximately equal to the sum of the growth rates of population, per capita income and carbon intensity.

In the first place, the goal of enterprise must be to provide the capabilities for people to flourish. Second, this must happen without destroying the ecological assets on which our future prosperity depends. So enterprise needs to be low in carbon, efficient in resource use and non-extractive in nature. In short, economic activities must ‘tread