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I'm not sure why infinite growth wouldn't be possible on a finite planet (even if we assume that "on a finite planet" is indeed a real constraint). Growth doesn
by samhw 5y ago
I'm not sure why infinite growth wouldn't be possible on a finite planet (even if we assume that "on a finite planet" is indeed a real constraint). Growth doesn't imply greater resource use.
- SuoDuanDao 5y agoEven if the economy were dominated by the creation and consumption of .mp3 files, an exponentially growing economy would eventually run out of server space and electricity on a finite planet.
- klyrs 5y agoAssuming we need nothing but space to exist in, the surface area of the earth is finite. Expand that by a few km up and down, and humans still have a finite amount of space to live within. If we're allowed colonization of space, we can only travel at a finite speed. Humans can overtake a finite radius in a year, resulting in a cubic rate of growth in volume. Exponential growth is ultimately limited by the finite speed of light and dimensionality of our universe.