Media Spotlight: Ferraris For All

12 July 2010 | By Samuel Dale

In his famous portrayal of a banker whose moral compass points only to himself in the film Wall Street, Michael Douglas boldly asserts that greed is good.

And although Daniel Ben-Ami seems to have adopted a somewhat tamer ’growth is good’ catchphrase there is a similar undercurrent of homage to the inherent value of rampant consumerism in his book Ferraris for All.

Consumerism is good in itself as materialism feeds growth and human advancement, to which there is no limit. Arguments about the sustainability of continual growth due to either natural or economic factors are dismissed.

Ben-Ami’s enemies are hardcore environmentalists whom he calls ’deep greens’ and anti-growth activists who believe there should be a curb on economic expansion and raise sustainability as a barrier.

The argument as presented by Ben-Ami is simple - human beings can overcome issues of climate change and financial crisis, and continue to grow their economies.

To illustrate this point the pessimistic scholar Thomas Malthus is quoted as saying that population growth is a severe danger to humanity. Ben-Ami points out that the 200 years since these comments were made have seen an explosion in the world’s population, along with hugely improved living standards.

So from a historical perspective it’s hard to disagree with the assertion that humans are more advanced, cleaner, richer and healthier than at any time in history, and economic growth is the underlying reason for this.

And the book shows that the benefits of growth are not only financial - there have been improvements across the realm of human existence.

Advance breeds more advance, and humanity is more intelligent and wealthier as a result.

This point is made passionately but the author’s arguments can be confusing. The benefits of economic growth are well known and you’d find it hard to find many people who are pleased to see the recent recession, but it sometimes seems that Ben-Ami is slaying invisible dragons.

In this context, the controversy about finding a publisher for this book that he explains in the preface baffles me, when the content is essentially a bold articulation and defence of the pro-growth capitalist consensus.

This much is acknowledged when he states that not all politicians can advocate anti-growth policies because humans continually demand higher living standards and more materialism.

The controversy stems from Ben-Ami’s insistence that growth is so beneficial that nothing else can compare to it. But any dogma can be strangled by the straitjacket of uncompromising opinion.

However, the book acts as an effective rejoinder to those who doubt the possibilities of humanity and the power of growth. At a time when greed is widely blamed for the financial crisis, it’s worth remembering that sullen times such as these are tiny stitches in a tapestry of economic growth stretching back centuries.

It also articulates the benefits of growth to everyone, rich or poor, reminding us that many millions of people have been lifted out of poverty. Readers are effectively told that to express scepticism about this is wrong.

Book review by Samuel Dale

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