Reddit reviews The End of Growth

You're quite right when you say it's politically unfeasible. The current US body politik would rather see the country utterly destroyed than confront a few basic ideas about the future of human society.

At its essence, the system doesn't function during periods of negative growth. The whole idea of interest depends on whomever you're lending to having more next year than they did the year before. Simple things like that are built into the economy as we know it.

Ideas like these get at the heart of how we've structured our economy and our society. Theories that question these basic tenets are not well received, and for good reason. People with money shy away from ideas like peak oil and climate change because they represent a threat to their way of life.

That isn't to suggest that alternative systems aren't possible. I haven't read too much on things like steady state economic theory and I certainly haven't read any credible accounts indicating it as a feasible alternative, but at some point we're going to have to acknowledge the fact that there are limits and act accordingly.

I believe that we are approaching or breaching those limits today and the last 8 years of relative stagnation are the result. Market bulls, please note the use of the word 'relative'. Yes, economic growth in OECD countries is still a thing, but it is significantly less than what we're 'used' to. I don't believe it's going to get better in the long run.

So what does that mean, doom and gloom? A forever recession? No. We'll adapt. But we'll adapt with less than what we had and that's goddamned near guaranteed at this point.

Build resilient local communities, evaluate ways to decrease your dependence on petroleum and decrease you carbon footprint. At some point (very likely within the next decade), it won't be some alcoholic on the internet telling you to do these things, it will be your government.

For more information, consider these resources:

• The Limits to Growth
  
• The Long Emergency
  
• The End of Growth
  
• Crude: The Story of Oil