High GDP does not meant capitalism is unsustainable
Basu,21’, (Basu, former chief economist of the World Bank and chief economic adviser to the Government of India, “The Changing Map of Economics”, https://www.project-syndicate.org/commentary/economic-thinking-with-covid19-climate-digitalization-labor-markets-by-kaushik-basu-2021-07?utm_source=Project+Syndicate+Newsletter&utm_campaign=ec441a8816-sunday_newsletter_07_25_2021&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_73bad5b7d8-ec441a8816-106945857&mc_cid=ec441a8816&mc_eid=7ae04d0acf/LM)
It remains to be seen what form the economics profession’s new intellectual discoveries will take and what regulations we will need to apply them. What is clear is that the strain humanity has imposed on the environment means growth as we currently know it cannot be sustained. But that does not mean we have to learn to live with lower growth. In fact, I believe future growth will be faster than we have seen thus far. The lower-growth camp’s mistake stems from a common misunderstanding of GDP or national income. A higher GDP is often taken to indicate more wasteful consumption and consumerism of the kind we are indulging in now. But that need not – and now must not – be the case. The consumption of more art, music, and learning, as well as better health and greater longevity, are all components of GDP, and are, or can be, environmentally friendly. Reforming our regulatory system can foster rapid GDP growth – but with the content of GDP changing dramatically, and with a disproportionate amount of human labor directed to creative activities. The nature of reform for the new world is a big topic, but policymakers will need to focus on curricula that nurture creativity, because routine work will increasingly be automated; shift consumption away from environmentally wasteful goods; and redistribute wealth radically to lessen inequalities.