Even if you reduce consumption significantly, at most you can cut down the consumption by a fixed factor less than 100% (since you can’t make everyone consume literally nothing). Meanwhile population growth increases resource consumption exponentially. At 1% the population doubles roughly every 70 years, at 2% every 35 years, at 5% every 14-15 years. Growth is unsustainable in a quite literal sense of the word.
I’m not an advocate of growth. Consumerism and capitalism are stupid and suicidal for mankind.
But malthusianism is still as stupid as it was in the 15th century.
Human population won’t grow infinitely first. Which means there isn’t an infinite amount of resources to find. And second, there is also space where we can go. Not to fuel stupid consumerist shit but simply to expand our hirzons and universe.
There are more philosophies to see the world through than just growth and degrowth.
Even if you reduce consumption significantly, at most you can cut down the consumption by a fixed factor less than 100% (since you can’t make everyone consume literally nothing). Meanwhile population growth increases resource consumption exponentially. At 1% the population doubles roughly every 70 years, at 2% every 35 years, at 5% every 14-15 years. Growth is unsustainable in a quite literal sense of the word.
I’m not an advocate of growth. Consumerism and capitalism are stupid and suicidal for mankind.
But malthusianism is still as stupid as it was in the 15th century.
Human population won’t grow infinitely first. Which means there isn’t an infinite amount of resources to find. And second, there is also space where we can go. Not to fuel stupid consumerist shit but simply to expand our hirzons and universe.
There are more philosophies to see the world through than just growth and degrowth.