The Mismeasure of Progress: Economic Growth and Its Critics

Few ideas in the past century have had wider financial, political, and governmental impact than that of economic growth.The common belief that endless economic growth, as measured by Gross Domestic Product, is not only possible but actually essential for the flourishing of civilization remains a powerful policy goal and aspiration for many.In The Mismeasure of Progress, Stephen J. Macekura exposes a historical road not taken, illuminating the stories of the activists, intellectuals, and other leaders who long argued that GDP growth was not all it was cracked up to be. Beginning with the rise of the growth paradigm in the 1940s and 1950s and continuing through the present day, The Mismeasure of Progress is the first book on the myriad thinkers who argued against growth and the conventional way progress had been measured and defined.For growth critics, questioning the meaning and measurement of growth was a necessary first step to creating a more just, equal, and sustainable world.These