Growth and prosperity: the unequal distribution of an ideal

Interesting logic, Michele; however, I would like to elaborate on one passage.

Prosperity depends on growth -- heavily. Without a cake, nobody enjoys a dessert. The problem is not the growth itself but how to bake and divide it. The challenge is selecting ingredients fairly and slicing it into equal pieces while addressing social inequalities. Preparing the recipe is the secret.

Let me give you a serious example. Hunger in Brazil has not been addressed by “opening restaurants and the enactment of recent progressive liberal policies” as stated in the lecture. More Brazilians are having three meals a day because of a historical combination of political stability, economic growth, and social protection. Leadership roles have democratically changed, international dependency has substantially decreased, and the civil society is politically more organized over the last three decades. Hunger policies, thus, require a structural task force. I wish we could solve this complex matter simply “building communities”.

Growth, therefore, is essential to any process. It is the beginning of everything. Instead, why not asking ourselves the following questions -- based on circumstances -- “What kind of growth do we want?”, “How do we translate growth into prosperity?”, “What are the conditions for and constraints to growth?”. “Limits to Growth” or “Ending Hunger Worldwide” books may give readers few insights to these topics and I cannot deny that they are also great marketing strategies to get the dollars of the well-off and gourmand.