Your comment about China not being able to back off its growth trajectory is particularly apropos. The Chinese leadership has convinced hundreds of millions of people (perhaps as many as half a billion people) to leave the farm for a life in the city working at salaried jobs. The arguments used involved freedom, personal development, and a change from calculating wealth in calories eaten per day.

It is highly likely that if the growth stops in China, then unemployment will increase. I doubt that the Chinese leadership will be able to convince people to go quietly back to the farm and count wealth by calories eaten.

It might well be worth the leaderships' life and China's existence as a single country to try.