Arguments against zero growth
- in random order - as encountered in discussions

Zero growth is either unnecessary, undesirable or impossible,
for the following reasons:


0. Services - We are changing towards a services society. Growth can be decoupled from the use of materials and be dematerialized. Not really, because...
1. Welfare - Growth is indispenable for the welfare of humanity....
2. Jobs - We need growth to create more jobs....
3. Enough space and food for more people - The world can still feed some more billions of people and there is still sufficient space. Can we cater for more people...
4. If we all restraint ourselves a little bit we will manage.
5. Balancing the north and the south requires Growth.
6. But you can't prohibit the poor getting a better life; there exists a large need to catch up.
7. We need the balance between the economy, the social and the environment.
8. The decoupling of energy consumption and growth is happening.
9. The market will provide the solution.
10. Eco-efficiency and recycling are increasingly used.
11. Technological solutions exist; the energy companies are hiding them.
12. Humans are creative. We will surely find the solution.
13. Alternative energies are progressing; we have to do more research.
14. Renewable energies will meet our requirements to a large extent.
15. Science will surely discover new energy sources.
16. Our children have to find and apply the solutions.
17. We urgently have to educate our children to protect the environment.
18. We have the planets and space as further resources and we can emigrate there.
19. A little bit warmer is not at all bad, for various reasons.
20. It is not alarming; there are still many uncertainties; nothing has been proven.
21. There have always been climate variations.
22. You are a pessimist; one has to be hopeful.
23. In 1972 the Club of Rome predicted resources would run out very soon and they were wrong.
24. Humanity has always found a way out.
25. We should but people won't do it; we first have to suffer.
26. But you can't...
27. It's difficult...
28. One should first start over there (with the others, with the other problem).
29. Humanity will die out one day anyway.
30. Nature is better off without people.
31. The earth and life on it will die one day.
32. "Does the human species really have to survive?" Yes, because...
33. Life is a cycle and humanity is a passing period. After humanity, the earth will be green again.
34. We are already doing a lot. We are on the right track.
35. International conferences and decisions are required. Alone we can't do anything.
36. It's the fault of the consumers, the politicians, the Chinese, multinational corporations, etc..
37. Zero growth is illusionary since growth is a biological need wanting always more; wir are programmed is this way.
38. Even if zero growth would be law, people would nevertheless cheat.
39. You are a communist.
40. That requires a system change, a dictatorship.
41. The individual is powerless. Anyway we can do nothing
42. My family is more important to me than big politics.
43. I don't care about politics.
44. I believe in the Good Lord and therefore I don't have to worry.
45. We can't take away the hope from the people.
46. We can't and we won't start picturing economic growth as a bad thing.
47. We need growth for our children because I have suffered hunger when I was little.
48. According to Kuznets from a certain point onward the environmental impact becomes a relatively lesser percetage of each unit of GDP... or? (Also compare 1.1 Die Hypothese der Kuznets Curve (EKC) and Gruhl chapter 3 (German))
49. That is a difficult question (the physical limits of the planet and the impossibility of so-called "sustainable growth") that cannot be answered today (here, now)... or...?
50. But we can't start killing billions of people. Certainly not,...
51. Growth can continue provided environmental costs are internalised in the prices of goods and services. But,...
52. The population question is unethical. Really?...
53. and so on...

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