3 ms·
> Why can't growth be sustainable Because resources are finite. Sure, we haven’t tapped all the energy the sun shines on earth. But if we did, we would be doi
by teucris 4y ago
> Why can't growth be sustainable
Because resources are finite. Sure, we haven’t tapped all the energy the sun shines on earth. But if we did, we would be doing the equivalent of painting the earth black, absorbing all possible light and making everything a scorched wasteland. Space travel enables a form of sustainable growth, but if you want to stick around here, the growth needs to stop eventually. I, and many people, believe we’re bumping up against the upper limit of humans the earth can support.
- samus 4y agoFortunately, it seems that people are rather uninterested in endlessly proliferating. Economic prosperity and the availability of birth control have mostly eliminated the Malthusian spectre. Human population might bump the 10 billion though, but it will reverse. We will have to deal with another serious problem though: how to support and care for the rising percentage of elderly people who can't work as much as they used to.
- samus 4y agoReplying because I forgot two rather important point: * child mortality is lower nowadays, therefore there is usually a temporary population boom in industrializing societies. This is because * in preindustrialized societies, people are aware that their children are their primary means of economic support in old age. Pension schemes have eliminated this incentive in industrialized countries, but a collapse of such schemes will force people to reconsider this point. People might consider to re-prioritize children over other life goals.