Growth is an integral part of human DNA from birth, both physically and psychologically. It can therefore be particularly difficult to channel this momentum throughout life, and even more so in a professional context.
Measured, organic and structured growth is one of the fundamental pillars of our economic world. Most specialists emphasise its importance for market stability and for the balance of national and international economies. It is also legitimate and healthy to aspire to progress, develop and explore new horizons.
However, for several decades now, we have been witnessing increasingly disorderly and exponential growth, based on economic models that are no longer necessarily in line with the imperatives of sustainability or the expectations of consumers and citizens.
This phenomenon is accompanied by a weakening of trade relations and an increasingly obvious violation of the basic principles of good governance. This is hardly surprising when we observe the headlong rush of major economic powers, whose abysmal budgetary imbalances seem to go hand in hand with excessive expansionist ambitions.
Is it still possible to change this model without heading for disaster? In theory, yes. In practice, this requires several conditions to be met, which many players, whether private or public, do not seem willing to comply with.
In other words, there is ‘good’ growth and ‘bad’ growth, and the latter is currently tending to supplant the former. According to the classic principles of economic management, those who do not progress do not stagnate they regress.
However, other models exist, as do virtuous governance practices, even if the notion of measured growth sometimes seems to have become taboo in certain insider circles. We all bear some responsibility: producers focused on volume, consumers who always want more at lower prices, shareholders obsessed with capital gains and short-term returns, and governments that complicate trade agreements with a host of taxes, duties, restrictions and various barriers.
Yet measured growth is very real. It is frequently found in SMEs, which pursue different objectives from those of large groups and face other challenges: offering quality services at reasonable prices, maintaining stable jobs and retaining a satisfied customer base. Admittedly, presented in this way, this model does not inspire the most ambitious.
Nevertheless, the sum of these respected and respectable SMEs forms the foundation of stability for local and regional markets and, ultimately, for the states themselves. Global and regional economies are complementary, and moderate, clearly regulated growth offers positive and sustainable prospects.
Ultimately, it is certain forms of populism, combined with the bellicose rhetoric of some states and governments, that are undermining an already precarious economic balance. Most citizens do not ask for much: they simply aspire to live with dignity, contributing directly or indirectly to the economy of their country and region.
This reminds me of a remark made by a former teacher: ‘Never give matches to high-flying intellectuals, they might set the whole house on fire.’ Unfortunately, we are not so far from that. But let us remain hopeful.
Enjoy reading and see you soon.