New Economics Podcast: Should we be going for growth?

Britain’s favourite broadcaster David Attenborough once said: ​“Anyone who thinks you can have infinite growth in a finite environment is either a madman — or an economist.”

But our political leaders don’t seem to agree. Both our major political parties have made growing the economy a key metric for their success in government.

So what is economic growth? How did it become so central to our understanding of the economy? And should we really be striving for infinite growth on a finite planet?

Ayeisha Thomas Smith is joined by Kate Raworth, economist and author of Doughnut Economics, and Michael Jacobs, professor of political economy at the University of Sheffield.

Music: Under Suspicion by Lee Rosevere, Free Music Archive: freemusicarchive.org/music/lee-rose…der-suspicion/, used under Creative Commons licence: cre​ativecom​mons​.org/​l​i​c​e​n​s​e​s​/​b​y​-​n​c​/4.0/.