Uploaded April 2024 | Updated September 2026, 3 weeks ago
Growth Kills asserts that the main obstacle standing between us and avoiding runaway climate heating is our blind pursuit of infinite economic growth.
Our so-called "leaders" keep repeating the lie that GDP growth is compatible with the necessary ecological transition, yet it has been proven that there is no current (and likely no future) way to disconnect GDP growth and resource use from increased greenhouse gas emissions*.
Elected officials are promising "green technofixes" that are either unproven, overly expensive, unable to be scaled up, or a mixture of all three—and which will only further accelerate inequality.
Fantasy-based solutions (e.g., carbon capture and storage) are just another way to funnel billions into the pockets of the wealthy— money that could be better spent on proven mitigations to curb emissions and protect us all.
Such lies serve to dangerously placate the public by telling them what they want to hear: "nothing about your life has to change".
Another lie is that economic growth results in human well-being: studies have shown that beyond a baseline level, there isn’t any correlation between economic growth and human development or happiness.
GDP is only a narrow measure of the welfare of capitalism, not the welfare of people.
Do we want to keep accelerating profits for the few or create well-being for all?
There is only one real, adult, logical solution: to produce and consume drastically less.
Unlike planetary boundaries, which are governed by natural law, our economic system is a choice, and we have the power to choose a better economic system that actually values and supports life.
We can either choose between a controlled reduction of unnecessary sectors, goods, and jobs, or witness the horrendous collapse of everything we need.
For more information, including Growth Kills' list of demands, please visit growthkills.org
*iopscience.iop.org/article/10.1088/1748-9326/ab842a
Growth Kills asserts that the main obstacle standing between us and avoiding runaway climate heating is our blind pursuit of infinite economic growth.
Our so-called "leaders" keep repeating the lie that GDP growth is compatible with the necessary ecological transition, yet it has been proven that there is no current (and likely no future) way to disconnect GDP growth and resource use from increased greenhouse gas emissions*.
Elected officials are promising "green technofixes" that are either unproven, overly expensive, unable to be scaled up, or a mixture of all three—and which will only further accelerate inequality.
Fantasy-based solutions (e.g., carbon capture and storage) are just another way to funnel billions into the pockets of the wealthy— money that could be better spent on proven mitigations to curb emissions and protect us all.
Such lies serve to dangerously placate the public by telling them what they want to hear: "nothing about your life has to change".
Another lie is that economic growth results in human well-being: studies have shown that beyond a baseline level, there isn’t any correlation between economic growth and human development or happiness.
GDP is only a narrow measure of the welfare of capitalism, not the welfare of people.
Do we want to keep accelerating profits for the few or create well-being for all?
There is only one real, adult, logical solution: to produce and consume drastically less.
Unlike planetary boundaries, which are governed by natural law, our economic system is a choice, and we have the power to choose a better economic system that actually values and supports life.
We can either choose between a controlled reduction of unnecessary sectors, goods, and jobs, or witness the horrendous collapse of everything we need.
For more information, including Growth Kills' list of demands, please visit growthkills.org
*iopscience.iop.org/article/10.1088/1748-9326/ab842a
