Why does the economy always have to grow?

My naive question for the day. U.S. is among the world’s wealthiest nations in terms of per capita income.  The economy tends to grow, meaning that people collectively have more than they did previously.  So why do people get so upset if the economy slows down or shrinks slightly?  Shouldn’t people be satisfied with what they already have?  Is it impossible under the present setup that the economy could reach a general equillibrium where people were collectively satsified with what they have and not feel compelled to have even more?Before the Industrial Revolution the world economy was fairly static, but there were no recessions.  There seems to be something perverted about this need for continual growth.