Acharya Prashant explains that up to a particular point of prosperity, internal wellness is indeed directly proportional to external tangibles. It is inconceivable for a person who lacks basic necessities like food and shelter to be internally peaceful and satisfied. Therefore, we do need basic material prosperity, and hence economics, up to a point, must be about material prosperity. The speaker points out that the catch is, in most of the developed world, that point of basic minimum prosperity has long since been exceeded. Beyond that point, there is no incremental return in terms of internal wellness with an increase in external abundance. The relationship curve becomes flat or even an inverted U-shape, where an increase in material prosperity can actually lead to a decrease in internal wellness. The world, on average, has reached a point where external growth is no longer helpful and is largely saturated. Insisting on more external growth will lead to catastrophic results for the planet, as we are already witnessing. While there are deep regional variations, and some parts of the planet like India still need external growth for populations that lack basic necessities, this is not true for the planet in general. The developed world, which accounts for three-fourths of the planet's production and GDP with only one-sixth of the population, cannot target any more external growth. For them, GDP growth would only provide a shallow psychological satisfaction and would not contribute to internal wellness, as their wellness no longer depends on external growth. The speaker concludes that the planet has no more to offer to accommodate external growth. Further wellness for humanity cannot come from external growth but must come from internal growth. He asserts that if economics is about welfare, then the future of economics is internal ascension, which he equates with spirituality. The future for the world, in general, is internal growth.
