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.
The Island of Mocha in the video is an example of a traditional economic system evolving into a market system. Every person plays a key role in this traditional system. They had fisherman, coconut collector, melon seller, lumberman, barber, doctor, preacher, brownies seller, and a chief. The Mochans got sick of trading goods all across the island just to get the things that they want or needed. The Chief decided that they would use clam shell for currency instead of trading.
At one point in time poverty was the general fact of the world. Man was always expected to live on the line of poverty, majority of the economic thinkers couldn’t see the world moving away from this standard but we did and have gained great affluence. As society has grown from this poverty stricken state it once was in, into an affluent one, the ideas used to run it have yet to change in some ways. In The Affluent Society, John Kenneth Galbraith explains how with great economic growth there should be growth in economic ideas as well.
McCrea, M., Hammeke, T., Olsen, G., Leo, P., & Guskiewicz, K. (2004). Unreported concussion in high school football players: implications for prevention. Clinical Journal of Sport Medicine, 14(1), 13-17.
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...
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.
The history of concussions in football brings up suspicions and questions about the safety of the sport. The number of devastating head injuries has been on the rise in little league football and desperately need to be addressed. A study from the United States Centers for Disease Control and Prevention concluded that between 2001 and 2009, emergency room visits related to traumatic brain injuries from sports increased by 62 percent for those younger than 19 years. Of these numbers, boys 10 to 19 showing the highest rate of concussions (Smith, 2014). Many parents and coaches believe that because the children are so young that they are unable to get seriously hurt. However, studies show time and time again that this is not the case. Due to the
Concussion can be defined as “a complex pathophysiologic process affecting the brain, induced by traumatic biomechanical forces” that can cause headache, dizziness, light sensitivity, memory loss and decreased mental speed (Adirim, Patel et al., 674). This means that concussions occur when there is a sudden movement or violent impact to the head, causing the brain to crash against the inside of the skull and become damaged. The disadvantage that children have is their necks aren’t yet strong enough to control these impacts, “Before 14, there is a size disparity between the head and the body, causing what concussion experts call a ‘bobble-head’ effect – the head snaps back dramatically after it is hit” (Smith). Dr. Robert Cantu, clinical professor of neurosurgery at Boston University School of Medicine explains, “Our youngsters have big heads on very weak necks and that combination sets up the brain for greater injury” (Smith). The head snapping back in this unsafe fashion puts children in greater danger for concussion than adults; all the more reason to ban contact before age fourteen, when children start developing their bodies. Sometimes, children continue to play even though they have no idea that they have a concussion. One condition, called second-impact syndrome, occurs when an athlete suffers a second concussion before they recover
Society in western civilization sees Islam's treatment of women as heinous, unfair, and typically cruel. How can one respect a religion and culture that makes their women cover themselves from head to toe in 100 degree weather, walk behind her spouse, enter separate doors of the mosque (if they are even allowed to enter), pray in an closed off area separate from the men, marry complete strangers, and receive little to no education. These few examples and a lot more can surely discourage anyone from even wanting to become a Muslim, especially women. These problems are particularly ironic due to the fact that Islam was the first religion to try to equalize men and women, which is truly hard to believe being that Muslim countries by far treat their women the most unjust. This paper will discuss certain hardships of the women of Islam and further discuss if this is truly a religion that discriminates women and if not where the problem exists. The topics that will be discussed are the problems for women in mosques, and common misinterpretations of rights of Muslim women vs. the laws they actually have.
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.
In traditional opinions, environmental protection and economic growth are mutually contradictory. Economic growth is a high environmental cost, and protecting the environment will limit the economic growth. The reason of contradiction stems from the inappropriate understandings among development, economic growth and environmental protection. In fact, economic growth could have a harmonious relationship with environmental protection.
In order for any country to survive in comparison to another developed country they must be able to grow and sustain a healthy and flourishing economy. This paper is designed to give a detailed insight of economic growth and the sectors that influence economic growth. Economic growth in a country is essential to the reduction of poverty, without such reduction; poverty would continue to increase therefore economic growth is inevitable. Through economic growth, it is also an aid in the reduction of the unemployment rate and it also helps to reduce the budget deficit of the government. Economic growth can also encourage better living standards for all it is citizens because with economic growth there are improvements in the public sectors, educational and healthcare facilities. Through economic growth social spending can also be increased without an increase of taxes.
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.
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.
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