Challenging the "Religion" of Economic GrowthJanuary 19, 2012
Or in the case of one new documentary, watched. I’m referring to Growthbusters: Hooked on Growth (remember Ghostbusters?), in which Dave Gardner, a courageous citizen of Colorado Springs, Colorado, becomes sufficiently fed up with the development, congestion, and depletion of resources he sees around him to run for his city council. The film follows his campaign, interspersed with headlines and newsclips from around the world praising growth, and shows the destructive effects of such growth. Gardner keeps it from becoming too heavy with a generous dose of humor; for example, he calls the Pope to offer him Endangered Species condoms. Growthbusters is effective because it not only provides viewers with the reasons to oppose growth, but shows an average guy stepping forward and challenging his city officials. He comments that his campaign for city council often took him outside his comfort zone, but he did it anyway. I was glad to see a long segment on overpopulation, a subject often considered too controversial to address. I hadn’t realized how many countries are actually encouraging couples, by giving tax breaks and bonuses, to have more children--this is madness! A segment on the Transition movement was included, but I would have liked to see more on what a steady-state economy might look like, as well as something on the environmental effects of diet, specifically showing the benefits of plant-based diets. However, the film is still powerful; its message is critically important to share with as many people as possible. Keith and I hosted a screening last night, and attendees were favorably impressed. Here’s how to schedule a screening in your area.
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For
those of us concerned about poverty, environmental degradation, and
climate change, the idea that economic growth underlies these problems
will probably not come as a surprise. Growth--higher production of
consumer goods, stepped-up extraction of resources, more and bigger
houses, freeways and shopping malls--has been accepted almost
unconditionally as the best way to run governments and assure
prosperity. It is seen as the most potent answer to lifting people out
of poverty and assuring full employment. Go out and shop more, we are
told. Few people dare to publicly challenge the American religion of
growth, and those who do should be read, supported, and discussed.