Growth

Economic growth corrupts a society in the way a cancer destroys the human body on which it feeds. Growth is simply an increase in the size of the monetarized part of the social arrangements by which we live, relate and support each other. All too often, however, this increase is at the expense of our personal relationships or of natural resources.

Elizabeth Cullen’s lead essay in this collection shows that recent rapid economic growth in Ireland has been achieved at a heavy cost. More people have to work, and work harder, than ever before. Some have coped with the stress by drinking to excess while almost everybody finds they have not enough time to maintain their social bonds. The people who have fared worst, however, are those with the smallest share of the increased income. They feel less good about themselves, for example, making them more prone to depression, diabetes, arthritis and osteoporosis and more liable to die prematurely from heart disease or a stroke.

Economic growth is only one of the topics covered in this book. Others include globalization, fair trade, interest-free baking, genetic modification, the conflict between the dollar and the euro, eco-taxes and finally, how Irish democracy can be reformed so it can respect ecological principles. Taken together, these essays present a convincing picture of how a more humane society might be built in Growth: The Celtic Cancer.