Economic growth

[donnakebab]

I'm no economist but does it make sense that one planet can only sustain so much economic growth?

Surely there is only so much surface of the planet that can be cultivated or harvested and therefore only so many human beings/ fauna and flora that can be sustained.

At what point does this become unsustainable? What dilema will future generations have to face? How many governments will strive for economic growth?

When I was studying at Uni a few years ago it was thought that the next world war could be about water rights?

What are your veiws?

[cptncrackoff]

Isnt it a natural cycle of growth/decline that is supposed to keep the economy steady!?
My guess would be that if growth could be limited to say 0.1% per year we could grow for ever very very slowly, of course this would never be acceptable, people just wouldnt be happy with that, its all greed greed greed.
Breaking it down into our own country we cant find growth, there are not enough jobs.
We were the best in the world at inventing/engineering, a real force to be reckoned with.
The trouble was we didnt know when to stop, inventing machines that can replace the work of 50 workers, may have been great news for the inventor, and the boss but the workers!?
Also working out that we can get everything made cheaply abroad, we just gave up making anything, what do we export, what can we sell, how can we employ people, theres only so much money we can all make sitting behind desks, and things will only get worse, more and more students in the uni's, how many of those will be satisfied coming out of education and sweeping floors for £60 per week like I used to. It's all doom and gloom!

[donnakebab]

Bless! somebody who has the same worries as me. Chin up sweetheart I didn't mean to depress anybody. I was just trying to find somebody on the same wavelength. So many of the people I know just don't think about these things and that's what depresses me.

[Hilary B]

The world 'cake' has a limited size, the only way to get ever bigger portions is either for some people to go without (and there are plenty who have been going without all their lives) or share it between fewer people. Until we can find a morally viable way of restricting the world's population AND how much people expect, we are simply heading ever-faster towards meltdown!
Of course we here know this, that is why we are taking a small step towards independence from money!

[chris]

I don't think we can sustain the population at the rate we're going about things (consumption, expansion, exhaustion). I don't know how long we'll be able to keep it up, but sooner or later our/a future generation is going to get a massive slap in the face (imo).

[donnakebab]

Talking of the future generation I am rather hoping that I never become a grandma.

[veggiechicken]

I certainly won't be! I've done my bit for keeping world population in check and have 2.2 notional children to spare for anyone who needs them! I'll swap them for some seeds!!

[scarletrunner]

No one will like my thoughts on controlling a population increase with no future,so i'll shut up now.

[singleseeder]

I think that this issue is more complicated than it appears

Whilst there are more humans on the planet and distribution is not equal, more food can now be grown per acre than in the past. There is talk of vertical farming, a bit space age, but why not? We have acres of glass houses so why not make them vertical?

Whilst machines have been invented and some jobs became redundant, often new industries flourished. I am still waiting to see a 'paperless office' since the invention of the computer.

Some inventors may have made a fortune, but the masses have often benefitted. Think rural africans who, with their mobile phones, can find out market prices for their meagre goods. They can now choose the best day to walk the many miles to the nearest cooperative/town/city to sell.

Also, (I believe in India) there are public computers placed in outside walls of buildings that children can access for learning. Amazingly, there are british 'granny' volunteers who, from this side of the world, can give praise to them throught the screen when they get things right.

British manufacturing? We are the 6th largest exporter in the world. Punching above our weight I think.

The reality with mass manufacturing being overseas is that we don't want to pay the price of making goods here. We all make the choice, a lot of British goods are available but they are expensive. What goes around comes around. In a future century, China will be so rich that their workers will not want to work for poor pay, and we would be happy to take the work on low pay because benefits had become unaffordable long since.

I just think that things are never as simple as they appear at first.

[Snadger]

Up until now we seem to have had a cycle of world wars which certainly knocks the population down a peg or two. Who knows what the future may bring, but my bets on either Iran or China working themselves........

[chris]

Well... I firmly believe that mother nature plays her part in (trying to) keeping the population in check. I'm sure more disaster will occur as we batter the earth more and more.

[Two_Sheds]

I have no idea. I've never before been depressed by the news, but now I'm seeing my friends' children being unemployed, staying at home longer, getting depressed because they're unemployed (and therefore 'layabout scum') and it's not good.

It wasn't great when I left school 25 yrs ago: in this town your only options were Norwich Union (if you had exams) or the chicken factory if you didn't, but most school leavers did get a job, or go to uni. Now, both employers have long gone and uni seems pointless if there're no jobs at the end of it, only lifelong student debt.

"Sustained economic growth should lead higher real living standards and rising employment" Macroeconomics - Economic Growth

I'm going to get this book and see if it cheers me up a bit: http://www.amazon.co.uk/Prosperity-w.../dp/1844078949

[Aberdeenplotter]

Norwich Union probably closing down as a direct result of the digital age i.e so called progress. As for the chicken factory? Our local Tesco selling chicken reared in Holland. That in itself must tell a story but I personally don't consider that to be progress. Maybe more of us should be responding to Tesco's question on their till slips. - How did we do today?

[taff]

I don't shop in tescos [on purpose] so I'm not answering their question

I dont get why economic growth is so good. There's enough for everyone providing everyone wasn't greedy or wanted more than they needed, but we have skewed ideas of what we should be entitled to, versus what we actually need.

[SimonSez]

Nice to see a Malthusian argument on here!