The Limits of Economic Growth

For most of the twentieth century, economic growth was regarded as an unequivocal good.

在二十世紀的大部分時間裡，經濟成長被視為毫無疑問的好事。

Rising output was synonymous with improving living standards and political stability.

產出的成長等同於生活水準的提升與政治的穩定。

Increasingly, however, economists question whether perpetual growth is compatible with a finite planet.

然而，越來越多的經濟學家開始質疑，永無止境的成長是否與資源有限的地球相容。

Advocates of green growth maintain that prosperity can be decoupled from environmental damage.

綠色成長的倡議者主張，繁榮可以與環境破壞脫鉤。

They point to countries whose emissions have fallen even as their economies expanded.

他們指出，有些國家在經濟擴張的同時，排放量也在下降。

Sceptics retort that such reductions are neither rapid nor widespread enough to avert catastrophe.

懷疑論者反駁說，這樣的減排既不夠迅速，也不夠廣泛，不足以避免災難。

Some go further, advocating a deliberate scaling back of consumption in wealthy nations.

有些人走得更遠，主張富裕國家有意識地縮減消費。

Detractors dismiss this as politically unfeasible and potentially devastating for employment.

批評者則認為這在政治上行不通，還可能對就業造成毀滅性打擊，對此不屑一顧。

The debate ultimately hinges on how we choose to define and measure progress itself.

這場爭論歸根究柢取決於我們選擇如何定義與衡量進步本身。