DBT
Contributor
Economic growth, both in the form of ever increasing demand within a stable population, and in a World of increasing population numbers is dangerous idea.
Dangerous because perpetual growth eventually hits the wall of finite space and resources, the neoclassical economist idea of economic growth in a full world appears to me to be a pipe dream, a fantasy that puts future generations at risk of economic collapse.
As Brian Czech says in his book Shock:
''A core tenet of Supply Shock is that there are serious problems with our current favored indicators of economic well-being, consumption and gross domestic product (GDP) per capita. These metrics totally ignore biophysical and ecological realities, implying that growth can continue forever, that it's the solution to all our problems and that its damaging by-products can be shrugged off as “externalities.”
''In focusing on the economy’s size rather than its true health, GDP disregards the hard laws of physics that ultimately constrain economic activity. Chief among these is the second law of thermodynamics, also referred to by the term “entropy.” Entropy explains why so many visions of a sustainable society are simply elaborate spins on the old perpetual motion machine. Czech sums it up nicely: "[E]nergy inevitably, invariably dissipates. ''
''The idea of a steady state economy is directly rooted in the law of entropy. Indeed, Herman Daly, the father of steady state economics, used entropy as his conceptual framework.''
All in agreement?
Dangerous because perpetual growth eventually hits the wall of finite space and resources, the neoclassical economist idea of economic growth in a full world appears to me to be a pipe dream, a fantasy that puts future generations at risk of economic collapse.
As Brian Czech says in his book Shock:
''A core tenet of Supply Shock is that there are serious problems with our current favored indicators of economic well-being, consumption and gross domestic product (GDP) per capita. These metrics totally ignore biophysical and ecological realities, implying that growth can continue forever, that it's the solution to all our problems and that its damaging by-products can be shrugged off as “externalities.”
''In focusing on the economy’s size rather than its true health, GDP disregards the hard laws of physics that ultimately constrain economic activity. Chief among these is the second law of thermodynamics, also referred to by the term “entropy.” Entropy explains why so many visions of a sustainable society are simply elaborate spins on the old perpetual motion machine. Czech sums it up nicely: "[E]nergy inevitably, invariably dissipates. ''
''The idea of a steady state economy is directly rooted in the law of entropy. Indeed, Herman Daly, the father of steady state economics, used entropy as his conceptual framework.''
All in agreement?