Economical growth is not necessarily growth in consumption of resources. It is also a measure of getting more out of less.
That's not a problem. We already have too much shit for the good of the planet and for the good of our sanity. We should focus on quality, not innovation of more gadgetry.
Considering diseases for example, we could save hundreds of millions with spreading existing drugs and techniques, and give many years or longevity to billions with access to water and food and vaccines, etc, than what we'll "might" do with some (diminishing returns) cutting edge drug research.
We know how to cure lots of diseases people all over the world suffer from, and we don't do it. It takes a lot of hypocrisy to say we need more "growth" and "innovation" to help them.
Also, you can't stop human curiosity and the drive to improve and compete. There has always been progress in arts, science and technology throughout history, no matter what political or theological system reigned at that time.
I find the world worse than 30 years ago, so I'm doubtful about this "true progress". Our progress is just moving along without a clear goal.
>Also, you can't stop human curiosity and the drive to improve and compete.
You can cut off the economic motives for those things, which turn them from a human thing into an inhuman cut-throat compulsion.
I'm sorry, but nothing of what you say follows.
Yes, I would say the innovation in Japan has died out since the bubble.
Might as well say the same things for a country that still heavily relies on fossil fuels, still doesn't have high speed rail, still has shitty internet speeds, has crumbling roads and infrastructure, and still uses these horrible air-conditioning units, and wooden (!!!) houses, not to mention their mobile internet situation...
The beurocracy is insane. My guess is that the government crept in lots of it because it helps to keep the public servants employed. If you look in to the post office or local government ward office, there is always a whole army of office workers sending away faxes and stamping them, then stapling some papers. (They still use these weird stamps to sign their documents btw)
And yes, Japanese still use faxes, drive old taxis and generally you'll see a lot of antiqued technology that still works, but I think that's kind of charming. I especially enjoy seeing some of the old narrow guagae trains still chugging along the country side from time to time (in stark contrast to the shinkansen). Also exiting to see laser disks / VCRs / minidisks when visiting Japanese houses. Just the other day I seen an automated piano controlled by a device which seemed to be reading the data from a 3.5 inch floppy! Sometimes I can spot the odd CRT display still happily flickering, including the old vintage arcade games... The bowling alley down the block still uses what seems to be a DOS based system to manage their displays & business. Visiting a hospital is sometimes like visiting a museum... Oh, btw, got to fly in a Boeing 767 on a domestic route a few months ago, that was a pleasant surprise as I haven't been on one in years!
I've been to Mississippi, Alabama, South Dakota, Michigan, and lots of other states, and it's probably much worse there.
There was plenty of innovation, new methods, product launches and new companies during the great Depression, even in the peak year of decline, and in all countries affected.
GDP and GDP growth is a decidedly modern invention anyway.
The Great Depression would have been a better example to use because even real GDP declined drastically.