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by ingas 3867 days ago
> Economic growth depends on resources

That's a point from ... long past.

Dollar, yen, euro, bitcoin(!) have no direct relation to resources.

So, I agree with your opponent that economic growth is not limited in principle.

2 comments

Real economic growth (NB: inflation adjusted) cannot grow infinitely. In fact, growth of the value of the currencies you've listed points instead to the finite nature of resources, since they have no intrinsic value, except as a measure of exchange for other goods and services. Supply of resources being constricted means that fiat currencies will go up over time. That doesn't mean that economic growth is infinite.
> Dollar, yen, euro, bitcoin(!) have no direct relation to resources.

Made up numbers (ie the value of the dollar, bitcoin, etc) need to be reconciled at some point. The value doesn't come from nowhere. If the bitcoin value GOES UP it's because people are putting money into it. The price doesn't go down when people buy it, it goes up. That's a currency exchange, it's not creating value from nothing.

That's what I'm referring to as a "resource." Not just iron or silicon.

The entire 2008 crash happened because people were trying to create massive amounts of value from nothing.

The idea that any system needs resources to grow isn't an opinion, it's a universal constant.