Utilize your financial knowledge, give your answer or opinion to the input question or subject . Answer format is not limited.

Why is economic growth so important? 
If you have an increasing population but a steady supply of wealth then there will be a perceived effect of decline.  As the average person can afford less and less.  If inflation is factored in this effect is accelerated as the value of money is reduced but the availability of that money is as well.  In this model those who have tend to accumulate as they produce. And those who do not have tend to lose wealth as they consume to fill basic needs, at ever increasing prices, with a declining source of income, exacerbating the effect.   If you control your population, prevent inflation and deflation, and maintain a constant production/consumption cycle that is perfectly in balance then you could have that utopian society.  But in practice there is waste.  That waste makes maintaining that balance impractical at best.  People have different desires and motivations.  So while that utopian society that you propose seems possible at the theoretical level when solely looking at the mechanics and economics, in practice it becomes more about managing the people.  Which makes the task virtually impossible. As for the debt issue that is the strategy of many of the western nations.  Most of them experienced growth over the last 50 years that was unprecedented in history.  Many of them simply assumed it would continue indefinitely and failed to plan for a downturn.  In addition they planned for the growth and borrowed based on the assumptions.  When the growth slowed several continued to use the same projections for their budgeting, with the effect of spending money they would not take in.  So in a way, yes the growth is needed to service the continued growth of debt, unless the government issuing that debt is willing to reduce its expenses.