Growth is good, or so we're told

There are certain givens out there, universal truths if you like, which seem to be accepted without debate: "Terrorism is bad" is an excellent example, but perhaps an even better one is the belief that "Growth is good". It must be, surely, after all if there isn't any, then we're in a recession and that's bad, right? But the idea of the whole world "growing" is untenable. The Earth is only so large and has a finite amount of resources, so we can't all keep growing. If one section of the world grows, it usually means another part of it pays for it.

Even at home the "growth is good" idea is about to cause some big problems for all of us. David Cameron recently announced that, in the furtherance of growth, the government is to relax planning laws to enable development to proceed untrammelled by awkward little considerations like the environment or the views of local people who might be affected by said development. What lies ahead is not a pretty prospect. How long is it before all the green space, excepting perhaps the mountainous areas that are too expensive to bother developing, are carpeted by industrial parks, out-of-town hypermarket complexes or golf courses?

This is the way out of the recession apparently. Growth is the altar at which we shall sacrifice everything that is important to our national well being. Sure some people will get a lot richer, mainly those who are already wealthy, but never mind. As long as the economy grows, we're all right, right? Actually no. The world needs to husband its resources with great care lest we destroy our own habitat. Animals in the wild do not shit in their own lairs, but that's exactly what the human race does when it worships the false god of growth.