> Exponential growth isnt possible in a finite world Exponential growth in use of material resources isn't. But exponential growth in wealth is, because a giv

> Exponential growth isnt possible in a finite world Exponential growth in use of material resources isn't. But exponential growth in wealth is, because a given quantity of wealth does not require a fixed amount of material resources to achieve. Efficiency improvements can continue to drive that quantity down. The real strongest argument is one that the article does not even make (because it considers productivity gains to be a problem instead of a benefit): the huge productivity gains associated with technology improvment, drastically reducing the number of humans required to produce a given quantity of goods or services, should result in huge decreases in the price of the goods and services where the gains are made. For example, food production in the US today takes about 1 in 20 people; a century ago it was more like 19 in 20. That huge gain in efficiency should have resulted in a huge decrease in the price of food. Why did this not happen? Because of governments manipulating the money supply. The effect of this is to transfer wealth to the financial system (banks and other financial institutions) from everyone else. A key way this shows up is that prices stay the same or even increase, even though productivity improves greatly. That is the fundamental problem woven into the fabric of our society: so many aspects of our economy are now dependent on government manipulation of the money supply that there is no easy way to stop doing it. But we have to stop doing it if we want ordinary people to gain the benefits of increased productivity.