The big concern that I have for an economy without growth is that it becomes a zero sum game. Collaboration is a strong method of keeping the peace, without growth there seems a reduced incentive for collaboration.
And didn't get the life of the people improved? Maybe the US is an exception but on a global scale globalization lifted a lot of people out of poverty. (need to look at data for the US though, but still if you compare life of a worker at Steinbecks 'grapes of wrath' time to today's workers, today is still better, isn't it)
It also doesn't imho make for a more equal society. The worse an economy is the more the rich seem to profit from it compared to the rest of society. Zero sum games I feel favor those with established power bases much more so than those without them.
If not all the "labor" inputs are eaten up by society-wide subsistence, some value will continue to accumulate, somewhere. To the degree that owners allow the workers to retain any of their "surplus value of labor," everybody's lot will continually improve.
Sadly I think that the battle for resources will be more detrimental to peace than the reduction of collaboration.
Collaboration will be more localized, but I hope our ability to communicate globally will maintain peace. Yet I may be too optimistic here.
