Why both left and right are wrong...

Most people, when asked what they seek in life, would be more likely to answer "happiness" than "money". Ultimately, those who seek money do so because they believe it will make them happy, but if you aim for happiness anyway, what is the need to pursue it in such a narrow fashion. Strangely, politicians seem less concerned about "happiness" than growing the economy, and making us richer, whatever the consequences. Refreshingly the government promises to invest £2 million in a "happiness index" to measure people's happiness. However, they are sadly unlikely to improve happiness by driving up the very kind of inequalities that tear apart community, with their brutal, ruthless austerity package.

Economic growth essentially refers to a quicker rate of wealth consumption. Real wealth being the resources in our environment that we extract and manufacture into material goods. Those who aim for economic growth seek higher rates of consumption, but when you consider that per capita GDP in the UK is a perfectly comfortable $35,000 per year, we should ask ourselves, why grow? Why compete with poorer countries who are trying to develop, but cannot do so, because they cannot win against richer, more efficient economies, in the quest for material wealth.

The reason why our political elite is so keen on economic growth, is because it gives them an excuse not to improve equality, even though equality is necessary for a happy society. Instead of redistributing surplus wealth to those who are in need, the capitalist class seeks to provide for the poor only by growing the economy, even though this worsens our lack of resources. Economic growth has long been used as if it were an excuse for not tackling other social and economic problems. Growth will inevitably stop, as we will simply run out of the fossil-fuels and the resources which we depend on to drive consumption, but this will happen only after everything that the have nots once sought has disappeared for good, and inequality is firmly cemented as what you earn becomes less important than what you already own.