July 10th - Growth Needn't be physical!

Four simple ideas seem to have emerged as I've been attempting to plough my way through what's being written and said about how we can get out of the mess we are in:
First, we have all been led to believe that our well-being and happiness depend on material possessions but evidence is fast accumulating that although we have to have our basic physical needs to be met, the rest, the 'stuff' that absorbs so much of the Earth's resources, does little to make us feel content and in fact leads to inequality and personal and social unrest. For a wonderful little film about 'stuff' see - www.storyofstuff.org
Second, the illusion that material possessions are good for us, is spread through the great unregulated capitalist machine because it is our addiction to buy, buy, buy, which keeps the industrial capitalist show on the road
Third,  we need to find a different system for living - economic, social and political - which will provide for our basic needs,  keep us in work, give our lives meaning and enable us to flourish
Fourthly, and perhaps most importantly for our finite planet,  our new system wouldn't spread the message that 'growth' has to be material.  We can grow in knowledge. We can develop skills. We can grow our communities.  We can grow our creative talents. Human kind has developed intellectually at a massive pace during the past few centuries.  But emotionally and psychologically we are still remarkably primitive. Perhaps the ultimate challenge is for us to 'grow up'!!