European Stars And Stripes (Newspaper) - November 20, 1973, Darmstadt, Hesse                                Lecture no. 8 editor s note this is the eighth of 20 essays by leading men in the world s academic Community. Originally it should have appeared last week but was inadvertently switched. By Henry c. Wallich economic growth has become a menace. Pollution of air and water Over crowding of cities and highways testify to the emerging dangers. Ecologists physicists and economists Are working to remedy the consequences of past growth. They Are asking whether further growth can take place without magnifying these consequences and running into far More dire results such As shortages of food raw materials and Energy. It seems Only yesterday that economic growth was praised As the Genie that would solve our social problems. Growth was to lift the poor out of their pen uries. Growth was to give us the resources to beautify our country. Growth  move developing countries along the path to Ward More human living standards. How is it that the Genie has so suddenly turned into a monster the answer depends very much on whom you talk to. Ten years ago when the Economy was not nearly so Rich As it is today the economists were at Bat. Dissatisfied with the state of affairs they chose growth As their favorite strategy to combat the ills of the Day. The Economy grew by Over 50 per cent but dissatisfaction instead of Dimin Ishing grew even faster. Today the ecologists have their innings. They stress the environmental damage already done warn of much More serious blight yet to come and demand that drastic action be taken. Many of them say that not Only popu lation growth but also All economic growth must be halted. Else they say the pollution and the shortages will eventually bring on collapse. Similar warnings have been voiced since the Early 1800s, when the reverend Thomas Malthus first preached his Doc Trine that world population was bound to outrun food supplies and that the world was destined to misery and starvation if it did not succeed in limiting the growth of numbers. Since then such storm flags have been hoisted from time to time always to be hauled Down As events proved them wrong. This time however the flags Are being raised Over a wider front. It is not food Only but ail natural resources including Energy supplies air and water that Are declared in danger. Some of the evidence is obvious foul air unsanitary water crowded streets and endless traffic jams. After having cried Wolf Many times in error we finally seem to be within sight of the animal. But though All this is True does it mean that we must drop and Stop everything in order to save ourselves some people talk of stopping growth As if it were something like stopping a habit of smoking or Over eating. For some people who Are comfortably off it May indeed amount to not much More than that. A Middle aged Man with a Good Job a comfortable Home Well set in his habits of working playing and vacationing May not care much whether or not he makes still More Money so Long As others Don t get ahead of him. But to Stop growth and Start giving up Hope and plans for the future looks very different for people in lower income brackets. A confrontation is in the Mak ing Between the environmentalists and the poor. Even if growth continues the poor will have to pay for the coming clean up along with everybody else As Power Bills Rise gasoline becomes More expensive automobiles become less efficient and All the rest. Continued growth of the Economy Rais ing their income steadily would help them to Bear these costs with something left Over. An end to growth Means Freez ing them into their present position unless the government drastically re distributes income through heavy taxes on the Rich and gifts to the poor. Without growth there would be Little to justify the prevailing inequality of in come. At present inequality serves a purpose it gives people an incentive to be efficient and it enables people with Good incomes to save Money that can be in vested productively thus contributing to further growth. It also gives the poor some Hope that gradually they will work out of their condition. Without growth there is no need for incentives or in vestment and no Promise to relieve