Mainstream economic thought of the 20th century was dominated by the principle of ‘more is better’, this thinking is dangerously misguided. Concentrating on maximizing real GNP has been brought about by economists who are working on the assumption that growth is always justified, because of the infinite wants of the population. These economists also see growth as a solution to the problems of the world today. Even those who propose ‘sustainable growth’ are false in that they assume that it is possible to continue with the growth of the last two centuries. Some of the fallacies being put forth are growth as a solution to pollution, “trickle down” effect of growth needed to help the poor, and technological salvation. They feel the exponential growth of the present can continue as long as technology can keep up, and that resource efficiency can grow indefinitely so as to stabilize resource flow. By analyzing these arguments we can see their contradictory tendencies and show that by prioritizing ‘growth’ alone, the global economy and its participants will be worse off.
First, there is a natural response to the word growth. It being a sense of advancement or betterment, this is not always the case. The notion of growth must always carry with it a concept of maturity. Growing beyond it would give rise to problems. For example, when a baby grows its parents are pleased and even show off to their friends at every inch and pound. However, imagine that the baby continued to grow infinitely! The parents would be concerned to say the least. The baby would outgrow its house parents and everything else it depends on for growth. Common sense tells us that there is reasonable level at which everything must grow, beyond which it is considered detrimental to itself and its surroundings. Our economy is a subset of the ecosystem we live in, and must grow to proportions that are reasonable to it. It definitely cannot continue to grow outside of it, nor should it grow to a point where it is harmful to the ecosystem. The economy being dependent upon the ecosystem must adhere itself to achieving a state of compatibility with environment.
Logic follows then, what is the optimal level of economic output? How do we decide what level should be maintained. We certainly cannot use the standard of the average american. In order to get that, we would have to increase the world economy by a multiple of seven! As it stands now human being use up a little more than a fourth of the worlds net primary product of photosynthesis.
Through sports or through everyday life, concussions tend to happen. An estimated 300 000 sport-related traumatic brain injuries, predominantly concussions, occur annually in the United States. Sports are second only to motor vehicle crashes as the leading cause of traumatic brain injury among people aged 15 to 24 years. (U.S National Library of Medicine). Coaches and parents often do not go through the right procedures or protocols when dealing with a teenager who has received a blow to the head. The usual questions that are asked when there is a head injury are, “what day is it, what’s the score, and how many fingers am I holding up?” Now these are not poor questions, but these questions alone cannot determine if a person has suffered a concussion. The correct method, which they are now implementing in most professional sports leagues, is for anyone with a head injury to take a legitimate concussion test performed by the team doctor. (WebbMD) At present the symptoms can be hit or miss. After receiving a concussion, research shows that an “estimated 80 to 90% of concussions heal spontaneously in the first 7 to 10 days”. (Barton Straus) But, it is important to remember not to return until all symptoms are
From the year 2001 to 1005 children aged 5-18 accounted for 2.4 million emergency room visits due to sports related injuries. Of these visits around 6 percent involved a concussion(The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention). Every athlete that receives a concussion does not necessarily go to the emergency room. Athletic trainers, when available and certified, can oversee the recovery of an athlete without a trip to the emergency room. Some concussions go untreated altogether. While the percentage may seem low, looki...
Football is America’s favorite sport. It is a fast-paced, hard-hitting game. Every week thousands of men and boys all across the country take part in football and every week these men and boys receive violent hits during the game. Frequently, as a result of these violent hits, the player receives a concussion. However, the long-term effects of concussions on players are not fully understood. New research shows that even a slight concussion in a football game can have lasting effects on a player. As a result of this research, children under the age of fourteen should not play tackle football.
Adirim, Terry A. “Concussions in Sports and Recreation.” Clinical Pediatric Emergency Medicine 8.1 (2007): 2-6. Print.
The model shows the hidden assumptions behind the notion of unlimited growth as opposed to predicting the optimum long-term output.
"Incidence of Concussion in High School Football Players of Ohio and Pennsylvania." Journal of Child Neurology. Web. 28 Sept. 2011. .
When it comes to environmental issues there are many value perspectives and different opinions on how the issues should be resolved. These perspectives that author Judith Lazyer describes her book “The Environmental Case” includes Promethean, conservationist, preservationist, and ecological perspectives. In our class we connected topics we learned in our Environmental Policy class to the books such as “Flight Behavior” and Ecotopia in our English Reality and Utopia class. A connection I found between these books and the policies we learned about in POLS 336 was that all our books included the Promethean and Ecological perspectives when it came to environmental issues. These perspectives were also included in the case studies we read in “The
While there are some benefits of having economic progress as the top priority, it does not take into account the demand for resources which spews out pollution and waste into the Earth. Meadows states that the production of grain peaked in 1985 and has slowly been declining; this is due to soil erosion and if this trend continues, the land which is able to be utilized will be scarce. Thus there is a risk of malnutrition as food prices will be raise due to GDP; higher demand with less produce being harvested. It also doesn 't take into account the waste and pollution which is produced as societies develop. Meadows et al argues that society is currently overshooting; "grow so large so quickly that limits are exceeded" (2004) therefore it "induces stresses that being too slow and stop growth" (2004). Due to over shooting the Earth is unable
We can observe this economic chancing from the graphic, after capitalism (feudal capitalism is not similar today's capitalism, but it is the very basic steps of it.) there is an upward trend starts in GDP and when we came to industrial revolution there is a peak.
Bill McKibben seeks out a method to desert and reveal the current economic system of the world in the chapter “After Growth” of his book Deep Economy. McKibben declares that we have compromised our happiness and the health of the planet to fixate over economic growth. Mckibben's claim is that economic growth results in climate change, which leads to social problems and first-world unhappiness.
Economists often talk about letting the economy work through the mechanism of the free market versus government control and regulation. Some believe that if the market is allowed to "do its thing" unprohibited and without government interference, then resources will be allocated efficiently, equilibrium will be found, and so on… However, this is not always possible. Of course, government control is not perfect either. Thus, it would seem that at times the market may be more appropriate than the government; other times the government may be needed because the market is not able to function properly; and other times a combination of the two working in unison may provide the best and most effective and efficient answers.
It is natural to be misled by the idea that economic growth is the key
However, the GDP of country growth too rapidly also will negatively affect such as inequality of income increases to a significant level. This problem frequently facing due to economic development. This will let the rich people are getting more richer and poor are becoming poorer. Next, the economic develop rapidly also will increase of pollution rate. This is because the country is producing the maximum output for fulfilling the demand of the consumer. This will let the country has negative consequences for the environment and health of citizens is
Economic growth also play a role in reducing debt to GDP ratios. Therefore, money can be spent on protecting the environment. With higher real GDP a society can dedicate more resources to promoting recycling and the utilization of renewable resources investment. Economic growth encourages investment and therefore encourages a virtuous cycle of economic growth.
Ayres (2008) advances the concept of ‘sustainability economics’, which deals with the issue of maintaining economic growth while paying special attention to environmental concerns of energy utilization and resource exhaustion, especially carbon fuel consumption and its relation to climate change.