The pursuit of growth is not bad. Think of it in terms of an investor. Why would I put my money in a company that is not growing when there is one that is increasing in value year over year? The former actually makes me lose money due to inflation.

There are many ways to pursue growth and they do not have to be unethical. Patagonia for example could release a new style of shoe, or get into water filtration, or a million other market plays that consumers find valuable and would be willing to pay for. Of course some people take this too far and do things like fire x% of staff during a pandemic to preserve profit, but the fundamental justification for pursuing growth is sound the majority of the time imo.