Who needs growth?

I just attended the opening of the Green Party of Canada Economic Summit taking place this weekend at Ryerson University.  Peter Victor, who I greatly admire, gave an updated version of his talk about an economy not focused on growth.  As always, I left inspired.

An economic model that respects resource limits recognizes that once we have provided the fundamentals required to live comfortably, we should stop striving for more and more things and start putting our efforts into building relationships, and spending time with our families and friends.

So once again, I’m ready to step out and promote a future where we work less frequently but more efficiently.  A world with fewer status goods and more time devoted to people.  A world where limits on materials, energy, waste and land use are recognized, and these limits are translated into meaningful prices.  This is a world that has a more local, more resilient economy, a greater sense of community and belonging, and more leisure time.