Flourishing within the limits: prosperity with growth?

The purpose of this paper is to examine Jackson's (2010) paradigm 'prosperity without growth' imagery which may assist business to flourish within the current limitations and assumptions of a finitely resourced planet. The interpretativist methodology is delivered through storytelling. Findings include the growing demand for government and business to re-evaluate the financial and ecological sustainability of their underlying visions of prosperity. This has predominantly been built on continuous economic growth, but there is now a need to re-evaluate this with a view to the possibility of pursuing 'prosperity without growth'. The concept of a growth based economy has failed to provide solutions to the 'tragedy of the commons'. Consequently, there is public concern that thoughtless and unconstrained pursuit of economic growth is ecologically unsustainable and will lead to tragedy for all. Although many elements have been addressed separately in the paper, it is imperative to note that the economic, ecologic, and social aspects of sustainability are all interrelated. Therefore, the impacts of these elements need to be considered simultaneously when business is developing any sustainable policies or strategies for the future in which quality and competition are likely to remain key concepts. Research limitations include assumptions that a market-based economy is superior to other alternatives and that innovation raises productivity which raises living standards. Originality of the paper is that achieving 'prosperity without growth' may prove to be an impossible endeavor due to the crucial role of economic growth in ensuring competitiveness, innovation and long term corporate survival.