Monday, February 20, 2012

"economic growth" is a concept that needs to be retired

I just finished reading "Managing without Growth" by Peter A. Victor.  It's a scholarly book with lots of statistical stuff, but still I think he makes the point that our economic theories need to dump their reliance on "economic growth" as the panacea for all our problems.

It's actually just common sense that we can't grow our way out of economic problems. There is a finite limit to resources, such as metals and energy.  There is a finite number of houses that can be sold (and we've overbuilt now for quite some time).  And it's a smart thing to realize that our economy goes up and down, and there's no utopian future where the economy just constantly grows.

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