Dr. Dimitar Sabev, Economic Research Institute at the BAS: Consumption without growth or growth without consumption: tremors in the post-growth era

Authoritative thinkers from around the world have long warned that the path of economic growth is not endless, nor does it guarantee a higher quality of life. But in state policies – economic, social, demographic – growth is still the leading goal. The reason lies in the special role of growth in a debt-oriented, financialized society. Like everything alive in this world, the economy also has stages of development. We are about to enter the new era of post-growth, when the main goal will not be maximum consumption, but maximum satisfaction per unit of consumption. The alternative is “growth without consumption” – an Orwellian regime of control and subjugation.