The Infinite Desire for Growth

Why society's expectation of economic growth is no longer realistic 

Economic growth — and the hope of better things to come — is the religion of the modern world. Yet its prospects have become bleak, with crashes following booms in an endless cycle. In the United States, eighty percent of the population has seen no increase in purchasing power over the last thirty years and the situation is not much better elsewhere. The Infinite Desire for Growth spotlights the obsession with wanting more, and the global tensions that have arisen as a result. 

Daniel Cohen provides a whirlwind tour of the history of economic growth, from the early days of civilisation to modern times, underscoring what is so unsettling today. He examines how a future less dependent on material gain might be considered, and how, in a culture of competition, individual desires might be better attuned to the greater needs of society.

'An unputdownable masterpiece.' — Esther Duflo, Nobel Laureate in Economics

"The book is a statement of hope, a plea for mankind to stop running in the rat race and start seeing the roses. Amen!"---J. Bhattacharya, Choice
"[A] stimulating book of wide scope drawing on a range of disciplines."---David Lorimer, Paradigm Explorer
"An utterly absorbing journey from the wheel to the iPhone."---Sharon Shinn, BizEd
"Can modern society survive slow growth? In The Infinite Desire for Growth, Cohen presents on balance among the best and most accessible analyses of this central and very important issue. This is an interesting, forthright, and worthwhile book from an author who brings humanity to economics."--Jeff Madrick, author of Seven Bad Ideas: How Mainstream Economists Have Damaged America and the World
"This erudite and opinionated book keeps readers on tenterhooks: Will humanity emerge intact from the tensions between the endless desire for growth and the economy's (and earth's) limits? Cohen's conclusion is elegant, hopeful, and controversial. An unputdownable masterpiece."--Esther Duflo, coauthor of Poor Economics: A Radical Rethinking of the Way to Fight Global Poverty
"This interesting and thought-provoking book considers the question of whether humanity needs to live in a state of permanent aspiration. Its breadth of reference is remarkably impressive."--Howard Davies, author of Can Financial Markets Be Controlled?

Daniel Cohen (1953–2023) was director of the Economics Department at the École Normale Supérieure in Paris and a founding member of the Paris School of Economics. His many books include The Inglorious Years: The Collapse of the Industrial Order and the Rise of Digital Society (Princeton), Globalization and Its Enemies, and The Prosperity of Vice: A Worried View of Economics.

Why society's expectation of economic growth is no longer realisticEconomic growth-and the hope of better things to come-is the religion of the modern world. Yet its prospects have become bleak, with crashes following booms in an endless cycle. In the United States, eighty percent of the population has seen no increase in purchasing power over the last thirty years and the situation is not much better elsewhere. The Infinite Desire for Growth spotlights the obsession with wanting more, and the global tensions that have arisen as a result. Daniel Cohen provides a whirlwind tour of the history of economic growth, from the early days of civilization to modern times, underscoring what is so unsettling today. He examines how a future less dependent on material gain might be considered, and how, in a culture of competition, individual desires might be better attuned to the greater needs of society.

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