Novara Media ACFM Trip 53: Growth
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Aug 3, 2025 The hosts delve into the obsession with economic growth and its implications in a world facing resource depletion. They critique GDP as a measure of well-being and explore concepts like degrowth, radical abundance, and sustainable socialism. The discussion also highlights the challenges of individual thought in late capitalism and the pressures of self-optimization. With a blend of cultural references and forward-thinking ideas, they advocate for reshaping our relationship with growth and prioritizing human needs over profit.
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Growth is a Capitalist Obsession
- Growth is deeply embedded in capitalism as a goal for rising profits, not just economic activity.
- The obsession with growth shapes both politics and cultural ideas like personal development.
GDP and Infinite Growth Contradiction
- GDP measures monetary economic activity, not wellbeing or distribution.
- Economic growth means the economy must double in size every 8 years, raising sustainability issues.
GDP's Origins and Limitations
- GDP was created to measure economic activity, not human welfare or efficiency.
- It became fetishized as a government success measure during the post-war era and Cold War.
