As continuous growth is necessary for capitalism to operate what happens when the resources run out?

Question

What is the alternative to capitalism based on continuous growth? Is this type of capitalism not destined to fail by its very nature, i.e. there are limited resources on the planet therefore growth must be finite....or do we change the currency of growth from tangible products to intangible e.g. information? Could that sustain the capitalist model?
So many questions.......so little time!

Answer 1

Your question is based on a false premise, and Tertia is right. First, capitalism does not actually "require" continuous overall growth. That's what we've been seeing in successful capitalist economies so far because their populations have been growing and the historic trend is for populations to rise out of primitive poverty to a modern standard of living.

But it's entirely possible for an economy to shrink long term, and capitalism will be just fine. For example, look to Italy and Japan for countries whose populations are already shrinking, and whose economies will eventually also start declining long term. Despite this environment there will continue to be free markets, private property, and investment --ie, capitalism. It might be a challenging environment, but anyone who follows the stock market knows that some industries and companies grow while some shrink -- you can still make money anyway.

And to Tertia's point, we will never run out of resources. The very idea is nonsense. Before you run out of any particular resource, as it becomes scarcer its price increases to the point that alternatives are economical. You switch to the alternative. You change behavior if need be. No big deal.

Long before we truly run out of our familiar commodities, we will have created replacements for them. The total matter of Earth that we have to play with is incomprehensibly huge compared to this microscopic scattering of humans; science will someday make possible fundamental manipulation of atoms and molecules; and someday we'll be able to harvest asteroids if we really need to. No big deal.

Answer 2

If resources became sparse then all that would happen is they would become more and more expensive and people would have to do without. Of course, the 'rich' would never do without and if it was pushed too far then there would be civil unrest (perhaps war).

I've never quite understood what 'capitalism' actually means. I like to call it 'consumersim' because I think this is a more realistic description of the North American system.

What's really gonna pull your chain is this possible precept...... As soon as you have a welfare system you are effectively socialist. North America has a strong welfare system and so it is therefore socialist. Socialism, by definition, also suggests government control of resources.... tending toward communism. North America has become more socialist over the last few decades. If the world reaches an equilibrium of ideals.... what is it likely to be?

Answer 3

In many many ways the resources on this planet are not limited. Oil in the ground has limits; natural gas has limits, etc. But what for instance is the resource that Google uses to function? Or Yahoo- Answers? Is there a limit to questions? To information? What then is a resource that feeds capitalism? Find one and grow rich!
You yourself ended your question with "many questions.... so little time!" Sorry, looks like you answered this yourself, well I agree with your assessment. Find a way to mine carbon dioxide in the atmosphere and a use for it - solve global warming. Best, -b

Answer 4

Instead of a single stream of growth, you could have overlapping streams using different resources for slightly different end products. So that as, for instance, coal and gas fizzle out, a new energy source comes onstream, and London never disappeared under a pile of horse *** because cabs were superseded by cars.

I would dispute your assumption 'there are limited resources on the planet'.
There are unlimited resources, the limiting factor is our ability to recognise their potential and utilise them for our present needs.

Answer 5

Contrary to the nonsense that you must be reading, the resources do not run out. That is part of what Capitalism is, the ability to freely innovate to improve our lives.

100 years ago, no one ever heard of an atom. Now we have nuclear power.
No one envisioned hydrogen fuel cells, now they are in development.
Henry Ford never envisioned someone pouring used french fry grease into a gas tank.

This crystal ball that people have that only predicts doom and gloom is ridiculous. We were suppose to run out of oil 20 years ago.

100 years from now, we will have technology that no one ever dreamed, just like 100 years ago. That is what humans do , advance.
Have a little faith in human innovation.
.

Answer 6

The economy in your mind is fulled only by finite resources like fossil fuels. Some resources - such as time, labour, food (provided by the sun, if you trace back far enough) - are infinite or near-enough!

Answer 7

you're bang on!
the growth areas move to take advantage of whtever resources there are...service, information...etc.
apparently (i can't remember who did the research) if there's a serious loss of information from a company's databases, the company will go bust within 18 months, so data is already a huge resource...

Answer 8

Read the book, or see the video Soylent Green, combine this with the theme of Larry Nivens book "A gift from Earth" and you will see the future of capitalism.

The scenario is happening already.