Resources inside a light cone go according to T cubed, population growth is exponential: thus we see resource limitation ubiquitously: Malthus was (essentially) correct.
Maybe “T cubed” will turn out to be completely wrong, and there will be some way of getting hold of exponential resources—but few will be holding their breath for news of this.
It’s not just population growth. It’s resource growth. Our entire modern system of economy is based on the idea of exponential growth. This system must collapse eventually, it’s only a question of how many planets we consume before that happens.
Our entire modern system of economy is based on the idea of exponential growth.
I’ve heard this phrase before. I see no reason to believe it’s true. Japan has been at basically zero growth for more than 20 years by now and seems to be doing fine. Sure, it could be doing better but it’s not like its system of economy collapsed.
Now, government social programs tend to be based on the hope of exponential growth, but that’s a different problem altogether.
Politicians and other decision makers base their economic decisions on the assumption of growth. You are correct that continued exponential growth is not necessary for a healthy society. In fact we must eventually learn to live with zero or near-zero growth, so we had best start doing it now and adjusting our policies accordingly.
This just illustrates the craziness. You present a fact of basic algebra in the abstract, and nobody has a problem with it. Even though it’s a direr prediction because it is fully general in its relevance.
I say the same thing but on a local scale, and get a very vigorous reaction.
Resources inside a light cone go according to T cubed, population growth is exponential: thus we see resource limitation ubiquitously: Malthus was (essentially) correct.
Maybe “T cubed” will turn out to be completely wrong, and there will be some way of getting hold of exponential resources—but few will be holding their breath for news of this.
Stein’s Law: If something cannot go on forever, it will stop.
On a more basic note, population growth is exponential only under certain conditions which tend to be rare and do not persist.
It’s not just population growth. It’s resource growth. Our entire modern system of economy is based on the idea of exponential growth. This system must collapse eventually, it’s only a question of how many planets we consume before that happens.
I’ve heard this phrase before. I see no reason to believe it’s true. Japan has been at basically zero growth for more than 20 years by now and seems to be doing fine. Sure, it could be doing better but it’s not like its system of economy collapsed.
Now, government social programs tend to be based on the hope of exponential growth, but that’s a different problem altogether.
Politicians and other decision makers base their economic decisions on the assumption of growth. You are correct that continued exponential growth is not necessary for a healthy society. In fact we must eventually learn to live with zero or near-zero growth, so we had best start doing it now and adjusting our policies accordingly.
Hopefully more than one. There are a lot of underutilized planets out there, even within our own solar system.
Upvote.
This just illustrates the craziness. You present a fact of basic algebra in the abstract, and nobody has a problem with it. Even though it’s a direr prediction because it is fully general in its relevance.
I say the same thing but on a local scale, and get a very vigorous reaction.