By Eppo Bruins on February 5, 2020 at 19:58Good life is more than economic growthLast week I wrote a blog entitled 'What kind of country do we want to work in?' That is the question that the Committee- Borstlap has put above his report.

I would actually like to raise that question a little more broadly: what kind of country do we want to live in? The Christian Union stands for good life, and that good life is not just work. We stand for a society where there is also room for peace and mutual attention, where there is always only more than the highest goal. Last night there was a debate about a new investment fund for the Netherlands, and it is precisely then that I would like to spread this story. Because of course, economic growth is nothing wrong. But it shouldn't be a goal in itself, which makes us forget everything else. Growth as a goal is as an idol. A golden calf of growth rates and BNP why we dance and cheer. But in the meantime, we're fooling ourselves. Because if we grow at the expense of people's creation and well-being, then that is not sustainable. It undermines our society and good life. We have seen that in Groningen, for example. The economic prosperity that the Netherlands knows thanks to the gas fields tell one side of the story, the other becomes painfully visible when we look at the consequences of gas extraction in Groningen.If you go for good life, economic growth is not a goal but a means. We want to maintain the possibility of attention and care for each other. Not always but work, work, work but also rest on his time. If we get an investment fund that allows us to invest in the future, let it be for a thriving Netherlands for our children. For people of all training, backgrounds and regions. This also means that we not only invest in infrastructure for densely populated Randstad, but want to go for liveability throughout the Netherlands. It means investing in learning rights for everyone. That we choose costs that benefit from the benefit. Good life is where people can combine labour and care, where families have breathing space, where always but more work is not the highest goal. That is why we advocate generous leave arrangements for young parents and for carers, that as an employee you can choose space and rest, attention to loved ones and loved ones. Good life is so much more than economic growth! If growth is elevated to the highest end, people get into trouble. Growth is a means of coming to a society with more peace and attention to each other; where there is room for the family, for volunteering and informal care. To make the good life possible together. pic.twitter.com/8jXH3bCmUI: Eppo Bruins (@eppobruins) February 5, 2020