The Impossible Hamster

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1. Doug (27.05.2010, 06:37).

   Malthusian economics is unscientific. It doesn't take into account that as economies grow and use more resources, they also use them more productively. Computers are an obvious example. Think about how little silicon we use for microchips now, compared to the early computers, which filled a room. The same plot of land also produces more as techniques develop to cultivate it better. Besides, economic growth is not a material thing, necessarily. It is also a social fact. Quality of life doesn't necessarily always get better with a larger GDP. And much growth is simply balancing the economy while taking into account for inflation. Advocating growth could actually be simply maintaining productivity. Besides, what do the people who make such videos have in mind? –killing the hamster when it gets too large? The Chinese do that with their children. It's a possibility, but a scary one. I'd prefer that we continue to "grow" and meanwhile continue research in improving our situation and our effective use of resources. Don't let the luddites bring us back to the stone-age (or maybe 20th century Soviet Russia? -it's not that far gone).