'Satisfactory' versus Optimal Economic Growth

It is widely taken for granted, in most of current economic literature, that optimal growth is the obvious aim of any development policy and in any case the standard as against which any growth performance ought to be confronted. The Author argues that it is a narrow conception of economic analysis to espouse the idea that all economics can be reduced to problems of maximization under constraints. With particular reference to economic growth, the Author argues that there are problems of much broader concern than those coming under the domain of maximization under constraints. While the Author does not make objections to the use of the maximization principle in economics, which is indeed important; he raises objections to the idea that ALL economic problems should be reduced to maximization problems. The field of economic growth provides a clear illustration of this contention.