Growth

Growth has been the primary objective for economies around the world for as long as most of us can remember. But it wasn't always like that. For the longest time economies did not grow steadily. year on year, and no one planned or expected them to. 

In this book Daniel Susskind goes into the history of growth as an economic phenomenon, the creation of GDP as a measure of economic performance, all the advantages and disadvantages that this focus on growth has brought us, and the juxtaposition of the many crises that we face today. 

He looks forward to the future, weighing all the arguments for continued growth and against it, and tries to find ways in which we can balance the need for growth against the need to solve the climate and related environmental crises. 

This book is full of the most interesting details about people and ideas, the way in which modern economic policy has evolved, and where it can go in the future. It's obvious that Susskind is passionate about his subject.  The book can get a bit dense at times, but for the most part, it is  genuinely interesting and a must read for anyone thinking about the economy, the environment and the future.