Can we prosper without growth?

Introduction

Is capitalism built for today’s challenges, or is it due for sweeping changes? As the wealth gap widens and natural resources shrink, the engine of capitalism — limitless growth — is clashing more and more with the need for sustainability on a planet whose very survival is threatened. Capitalism’s defenders say it’s adaptable to the moment, but a new movement is underway for alternative paths to prosperity without growth as its centerpiece, from the Green New Deal to initiatives in Africa and Latin America. Is common ground possible?

Read the full recap

Find discussion questions, educational resources and more on this topic with the Deep Dive curricula. 

Framing the debate

Jason Hickel, an anthropologist and author of The Divide: A Brief Guide to Global Inequality and Its Solutions, focuses on inequality and ecological economics. He argues that capitalism’s growth is a killer, the corrupt engine behind climate destruction and ecological collapse. Ameenah Gurib-Fakim, the former president of Mauritius and an adviser at the Global Network for Africa’s Prosperity, defends capitalism from the practical side of how capitalistic growth transformed Mauritius into a country with greater resources for more people. Anand Giridharadas, a Time magazine editor and the author of Winners Take All: The Elite Charade of Changing the World, paints a picture of the stark difference between capitalism in concept and capitalism in practice.