The end of growth

By Lance Olsen, New West Unfiltered 12-23-07

Probably during the lifetimes of everyone on this list, the world economy has been advanced with a mantra of growth, and what is described in the article below as a "hostility" to the idea that there are limits to growth. But the end of growth has been recognized by the corporate world for some time now, and in two major ways.

First, as corporations gradually realized that the human population has been approaching its own limits to growth, mergers and acquisitions have become the preferred way to grab new customers. In essence, a company and its earnings grow bigger by buying another company's customer base.

Second, as companies in one country realize that there are even limits to how many other companies they can buy at home, they sought growth by rushing to capture customers in other countries. While many have said that corporate expansion into other parts of the planet was a rush to find cheap labor, it was also a rush to find more customers.

Is it really as simple as that? No. Nothing is. But the niceties don't negate the truth that growth has reached or is near its limits.

There will of course be argument about the end of growth. After all, there has also been a lot of argument about realities of global warming, and the realities arising from the end of cheap oil. And many, with some clear justification, still don't think that corporations are bright enough to see very far ahead.

Now the end of growth seems to be coming from climate and energy trends. For more detail, go here:
http://www.eurotrib.com/?op=displaystory;sid=2007/12/20/105646/94. And be sure to follow the link to Martin Wolf's recent column in the Financial Times. Wolf too sees an approaching end to growth, and cites climate/energy trends in making his point. [End of article]