Question

Focusing on the United States experience, debate, if an influential/impactful civil society is a necessary condition for sustained economic growth.

Answer 1

Sustainable growth is of a larger perspective than mere economic growth. It emphasises on the need to economise resources such that without compromising on the needs of the current generation we are able to retain resources for future use also especially of the future generation.

Sustainability requires that : 1. Resources which are renewable in nature are candidly used so that they are preserved for future generations also. 2. The non-renewable resources should not be exhausted since its near impossible to find suitable substitutes for such resources in the near future and the substitutes might , if at all present , take a very long period of time to be put  to use.

The socio economic conditions necessarily impact the economic growth of a nation. The United States history, if traced from colonial times to present, is a proof enough of how the society’s impact fosters the rate of the economic growth as well as emphasise on the sustainability of the growth rate.

Indeed , the United States has been one of those few countries of the world to recognise the dangers of over exploitation of a country’s resources and the impending consequences. Hence the American society has adapted itself to the concept of sustainable development

The onset of the ‘market economy’ and the flexibility of the society in adapting itself to the ‘price mechanism process’ guided by the free market forces of demand and supply , have indeed accelerated the growth process of the United States at a faster rate.

As a nation it has sought to attack the social evils like poverty and unemployment at the earliest and has been very effective in controlling these social evils .The ‘near to full employment equilibrium’ as envisioned by J M Keynes has always been a target which the American society has most proactively sought and is still focusing on , in maintain the already achieved goal A civilised influential society that has the ability to utilise its resources as well as adapt itself to latest technological developments impacts the growth rate to a great extent. The recognition of ‘dollar’ as a currency and its acceptance the world over, its appreciation in the international market all prove the impact of the American society on the growth of the nation . The gradual transition of the occupational structure form the primary sector to secondary and then largely to the tertiary sector , make a clear statement of how an impactful society can bring about positive changes in the growth rate of a nation.

The society’s adaptability to ‘open economy’ concept has lead to surplus in its balance of payments many a times. This has also fostered competitiveness on a global level so much so that today , the products and services produced in the United States have created a brand for themselves .

Sustained economic growth also depends on quality of life which in turn depends on parameters like standard of living, literacy rate, infant mortality rate and so on….

Quality of life also depends upon the accessibility of a cleaner and greener environment to the society at large. United States has always envisioned and consciously sought to provide such a healthy environment. This improves the productivity of the society at large which in turn will lead to faster and sustained economic growth .

In order to know the growth rate in more real terms it is necessary t calculate the costs involved in the process of developing a nation largely through industrialization. Such a calculation and an analysis of the social costs and benefits of the growth rate ha s great influence on the actual economic growth rate achieved.

The American society has been exposed to various business cycles like recession, prosperity and so on and due to a high literacy rate and low levels of unemployment the society has been able to bounce back to its earlier near to full employment equilibrium during the extreme phases of the business cycles.