Free Essay On Moral Perspective Of Economic Growth

Economic growth is what many countries in the world today strive to achieve. There are many aspects of economic growth that are of interest to economist and leaders. In more than often the role of morals in economic growth is disguised as challenges rather than being viewed from a moral perspective. In this paper, the place of morals in economic is considered.
It is evident that economic growth leads to better living standards among the people. As more and more people join the main stream employment sectors and increase their earning, such people are able to afford healthcare, the basic goods, among others. Due to such, they suffer from lesser disease and tend to live long. However one wonders whether such is the case all the time. From an economist view, capitalist spirit tends to concentrate resources among few people in the top. Even when the economy is growing, the few rich tend to be richer as few people join the middle class. In this case, some of the people are greatly disadvantaged indirectly if the capitalist make policies that benefit them alone. For example, if the employment laws do not favor the vast majority of the people in a country, even when the economy grows, such a nation cannot be described as a just one. Suffering of one person in the nation ought to be of concern to all.
In most cases, the rich or the leaders do not show generosity to the poor. If the leaders would mind the suffering of the poor, they would make policies that uplift the lives of the people. In the prices of economic growth, showing generosity of the poor would mean that the jobs available are for all people, skilled and unskilled and the taxation regime would also favor them. Creating policies that make the highly paid to claim higher amounts of tax compensations is immoral since it amplifies inequality in the society.
Democratization of the institutions guarantees diffusion of development (“Economist’s view,” 2011). If the institutions in any country are subject to manipulation by the government and its officers, such institution cannot function optimally resulting to decisions that are biased towards a few people. Economic growth does not lead to a happier nation if some people feel oppressed by the elite in the society.
Industrialization has been one of the major driving forces of economic growth. It has also been one of the leading causes of pollution of the environment. Pollution is an immoral act. There are industries that pollute the environment with impunity. Releasing gallons of highly toxic water into rivers does not only kill or affect that aquatic life along the riverine, but also poses a serious danger to the people downstream. Toxic concentration from industries can cause cancer to humans. The same applies to releasing a lot of smoke to the atmosphere or dust. One must take responsibility for causing suffering to humans, and animals, and also making air dirty or the land making people uncomfortable. Social cooperate responsibility is not enough as it blinds the people from facing the real issues facing them.
Natural disaster can strike due to economic activities. For example, the nuclear plant collapse in Japan and other major oil leaks in different parts of the world can cause devastation to the people. In as much as governments want the economy to grow, such ought not to endanger the people. When such accidents occur, the poor suffer more (Chris Berg, 2011) than the rich in the current highly polarized world in terms of economic development.
Moreover, the working conditions in the industries are pathetic. Some endanger the lives of the people directly by exposing them to toxic chemical, extreme heat or coldness, etc. it is up the government, and the leaders to ensure that economic growth does not degrade the lives of the workers as the owners of such industries benefit. A just system would also help to reduce such, and make the nation happy.

Works cited

“Economist’s View” Accessed on February 19, 2015 from <http://economistsview.typepad.com/economistsview/2011/07/the-moral-consequences- of-economic-growth.html>
Chris Berg. Natural disasters give economic growth a moral dimension. 16 March, 2011. ABC .Accessed on February 19, 2015 from <http://www.abc.net.au/news/2011-03- 16/naturaldisastersgiveeconomicgrowthamoraldimesion/45170>