I have wondered for a long time what is the obsession with endless growth we have in our society, since Columbus we have known our world to be finite, and since the 60's we have had photographic evidence of this. Why then is it so important for our society to continue to grow endlessly? We hear our politicians constantly calling for higher birth rates, we hear the implication that economic growth is dependant on population growth. Is it? Can economic success only come with a growing population and a growing economy? How are we ever to tackle our environmental problems if we cannot even come to terms with the finite nature of our biosphere and its resources? It is my opinion that we need an economic model that can come to terms with the reality of a flat or decreasing population, the problem is how?

How do we end the growth obsession? Realistically? and how do we maintain wealth and standard of living with a shrinking population and possibly even a shrinking economy to go with it?

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We will have to wait until an even greater economist than Keynes comes up with a new theory, which will put a positive spin on continually retracting markets!

Mixed economy, rather than no state intervention under laissez faire.

A core principal is that  governments are responsible for increasing spending in a period of economic downturn. I always thought that meant encouraging an economy that had static or increasing growth.


This contrasts with the modern theory of Friedman, which focuses on monetary policy.