Economic growth is generally regarded by governments and most
ordinary people as a panacea for all problems, including issues
caused by the COVID pandemic. But this raises an important
question: is further growth in advanced economies able to increase
well-being once people's basic subsistence needs are met? Some
advanced market economies, e.g. the United States, have exhibited a
decline in well-being, both subjectively and objectively measured,
over several decades despite seeing economic growth during the same
period. This book provides an original and comprehensive
explanation: economic growth, as driven by market forces, induces
people, through both the demand- and supply-side channels, to
pursue command over more material resources, and this weakens the
self-generation of capabilities, putting well-being at risk of
deterioration. The book argues, with the support of a variety of
evidence, that the challenge can be overcome if governments'
policies and people's choices pursue, as their ultimate goal,
'fundamental human development' on an evolutionary basis: the
development of the capability of a typical person to conceive and
share with others new purposes, to pursue them individually or
collectively, and thus to contribute to building human culture. If
such human development is prioritised, it makes people satisfied
with their lives and resistant to adverse shocks, and it can even
shape the pattern of economic growth. By contrast, if economic
growth is prioritised, it tends to weaken and impoverish
fundamental human development, and consequently people's well-being
and social cohesion. With this volume, readers will find an answer
to a problem that is both urgent and long-term, both individual and
societal. The work makes a substantial contribution to the
literature on wellbeing, the economics of happiness, human capital
and growth, and the capability approach.
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