The book deals with the consequences of today's over-consumption in the "rich" part of the world and what this puts us at risk for. The title of the book alludes to the great unwillingness of politicians, economists and corporate executives to recognize that our overexploitation of the earth's resources will have serious consequences. We act as though our natural resources are infinite and that everyone can live like the affluent part of the world does today, where 20% of the earth's population consumes more than 80% of the earth's resources.
The earth's population is growing, and an increasing proportion of this population wants to live the "comfortable material life," something that from a resource perspective is nothing less than impossible. Oil is limited and "peak oil" is already here - or will be soon enough. The climate is being affected, the oceans are being over-fished, and biological diversity is decreasing at a rate unprecedented in the history of the planet. The exalted principles of growth don't work over the long term because GDP figures don't take into account how much of nature's resources we actually consume.

So, is the situation hopeless then? The answer is "no" according to the authors, who make suggestions for improvement but say that we must act now. The most important change we need to make, however, is a change in the way we think about development. Common GDP comparisons must include changes in the natural system. Otherwise we will fool ourselves into short-term solutions.
 
"Prosperity Without Growth" is the name of a book by Tim Jackson, Professor at the University of Surrey and member of the British government's Sustainable Development Commission. Both this book and the one mentioned above share the same main theme: a growth based on GDP figures is misleading because it doesn't take into account how the natural resources are being depleted. We have a current global economy where countries are trying to boost consumption through artificial means to get a GDP growth that actually isn't a growth but instead a ruthless exploitation of nature.
We must create prosperity without destroying the environment and depriving future generations - and it is possible to do this.
 
These two books come at a time when we are gazing anxiously at the development of GDP figures quarter by quarter. The books concern the most important of long-term issues: how we can create sustainable prosperity for more of the world's population. Several governments have dared to address this issue and have appointed committees to work with it. While it seems safe to say that short-term issues such as unemployment and budget deficits will continue to dominate the political debate and political initiatives, the books are still worth some serious thought and reflection on the type of legacy we would like to leave our grandchildren. As I see it, companies that base their actions on long-term sustainability issues are the winners in all respects in the long run.