Topic: Screw the economic growth paradigm - page 4. (Read 7928 times)
I've been a long-time critic of the dictum, that economies must always grow (and I'm not alone).
I think this paradigm is a remnant of older ages, when the spanish, portugese, british and whoever where in the process of colonializing the world and a little younger times, when nation-state's economies started competing on a global scale.
Taking a global view, an ever-growing economy cannot work in the long run because of earth's limited resources. I actually think we (at least the "western" people) should scale our consumption (and therefore our non-exporting economies?) down. I think if we don't, this will bite us in the ass big time some day. Also: we are still to a certain extent a role-model for people in developing countries... imagine all the world having energy and resource consumption of a US citizen => doesn't work.
Do we really need all the consumer products we buy en masse each day and throw away the next? Does it make us happier? I'm seeing many articles about studies suggesting otherwise.
So why am I telling you this?
Because I think it's a very nice answer to the many people saying "a deflationary currency cannot work as the main global currency, because it just wont support economic growth".
Is it (a good answer)?
I think this paradigm is a remnant of older ages, when the spanish, portugese, british and whoever where in the process of colonializing the world and a little younger times, when nation-state's economies started competing on a global scale.
Taking a global view, an ever-growing economy cannot work in the long run because of earth's limited resources. I actually think we (at least the "western" people) should scale our consumption (and therefore our non-exporting economies?) down. I think if we don't, this will bite us in the ass big time some day. Also: we are still to a certain extent a role-model for people in developing countries... imagine all the world having energy and resource consumption of a US citizen => doesn't work.
Do we really need all the consumer products we buy en masse each day and throw away the next? Does it make us happier? I'm seeing many articles about studies suggesting otherwise.
So why am I telling you this?
Because I think it's a very nice answer to the many people saying "a deflationary currency cannot work as the main global currency, because it just wont support economic growth".
Is it (a good answer)?
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