Careful with the suffering trope. GDP growth in 2025 was 1.4 % [1]. Even under the external oil price shock, projection for 2026 is >0.
Of course, in the periphery that is not good enough. For developed economies like Germany, France that is a totally normal growth rate. The allocation is the problem, very few people can’t get enough while the middle class is under pressure and the rest has real problems to pay their rents and food. Real growth can only be had by increasing local consumption and/or expansion of governmental spending.
Fun fact...if your GDP growth is less than your rate of inflation (currently 3.8%), then your economy is shrinking and you are getting poorer. This also means your standard of living is decreasing.
Goodhart's law suggests that's not entirely true. GDP is an imperfect measure, and doesn't capture how anxious people are, how happy and content they are. It doesn't measure how much hope they have for the future. It doesn't say how much more or less you make than your brother-in-law.
Of course, in the periphery that is not good enough. For developed economies like Germany, France that is a totally normal growth rate. The allocation is the problem, very few people can’t get enough while the middle class is under pressure and the rest has real problems to pay their rents and food. Real growth can only be had by increasing local consumption and/or expansion of governmental spending.
That being said, I agree with your analysis.
[1] https://www.oecd.org/en/publications/2026/06/oecd-economic-o...