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Even on its own terms, growth isn't working. We avoid talking about the skewed distribution of the planet's wealth and income, dreaming instead that we can grow our way out of the problem. So the richest 20% of the world's population consumes the lion's share of resources, while the poorest 80% have to get by on the crumbs. And the ratios are getting worse. Growth is an excuse for continued inequality. But, more importantly, countless studies show that beyond a certain point higher levels of material consumption do not lead to increased well-being or happiness.
就其本身来说，增长也并未起作用。我们总是避免谈论全球财富和收入分配的不平均和不合理，而是梦想着我们能够通过经济增长解决这些问题。所以世界最大份额的资源人口中最富有的20%的人消耗了最大份额的资源，而最贫穷的80%的人不得不靠剩下的少量资源凑合生活。这个分配比例正变得更糟糕。经济增长是贫富不均继续存在的原因。然而更为重要的是，无数研究表明，物质消费水平超过某一点以后，更高水平的消费并不能带来更多的安康和幸福。
Per capita GDP has tripled in the United States since 1950, but the percentage of people who say they are happy has declined since the 1970s. Richard Wilkinson and Kate Pickett, in their book The Spirit Level, note that poor nations with lower inequality have higher levels of well-being than richer but more unequal nations. We place growth above equality and pay a price in what's called "the hidden injuries of class." Shorter, unhealthier, and unhappier lives addicted to a mindless consumerism that is depleting the planet's resources.
自20世纪50年代以来，美国人均GDP已经增长了3倍，但是，自20世纪70年代起说自己幸福的人的比例却下降了。理查德•威尔金森和凯特•皮克特在他们的《精神水平》一书中指出：与贫富差距水平较高的富有国家相比，贫富差距水平较低的贫穷国家的人们的幸福指数更高。我们将经济增长凌驾于平等之上，结果造成所谓的“社会等级的隐性伤害"。人们的生命更短、生活更不健康、更不幸福，而且人们沉迷于盲目的消费主义之中，这种盲目的消 费主义正在耗尽地球的资源。
Free market cheerleaders believe that technology and human ingenuity will solve the problem. The economy can be "de-coupled" from material inputs, they claim, and improved technology will allow us to produce more wealth with less energy, materials, and waste. This is whistling in the dark. Between 1970 and 2000, rich countries saw impressive gains in energy efficiency of up to 40%; but average improvements of 2% a year were eclipsed by growth rates of 3% or more. Increased technical efficiency is swamped by increased consumption.
自由市场的鼓吹者们认为，技术的进步和人类的聪明才智将会解决这个问题。他 们扬言，经济能和物质投入分离开来,改进的技术将帮助我们用更少的能源和原料生产出更多的财富，并产生较少的废物。这种说法完全是在黑暗中吹口哨，自己给自己壮胆。1970年到2000年期间，富裕国家能源效率的增长惊人，高达40%;但是与每年3%甚至更高的经济增长速度的提高相比，平均每年2%的能源效率的提高则相形见绌。提高的技术效率被增加的消费吞没了。
