This article takes a mathematical approach to analyzing the limits to economic growth, showing its physical impossibility. Very clever, especially when read with its sister post on the impossibility of continued growth in energy use.
“I have used physical analysis to argue that sustained economic growth in the long term is fantastical. Maybe for some, this is stating the obvious. After all, Adam Smith imagined a 200-year phase of economic growth followed by a steady state. But our mentality is currently centered on growth. Our economic systems rely on growth for investment, loans, and interest to make any sense. If we don’t deliberately put ourselves onto a steady state trajectory, we risk a complete and unchoreographed collapse of our economic institutions.”
via Can Economic Growth Last? | Do the Math.
Recommended by Marc-Antoine Parent.