[imtringued]

Capitalism isn't about endless growth, it's about growing as quickly as possible. The dark ages have their name for a reason. We simply did not have a societal model that rewarded improving ourselves. We were simply stuck in the status quo. The Renaissance was purely about changing this mode of thinking on a societal level and capitalism is the most effective way of rewarding growth. Communism tends to fall behind because the system is built around people willing to accept their current life as is. If we for some reason end up in a situation where we have done everything that is possible capitalism will cease to provide growth beyond inflation.

[erik_seaberg]

Capitalism rewards efficiency with market share. During contraction of an industry, efficient producers should be scaling down slowly while others collapse. We may think it depends on growth, but that’s because we put it to work sustaining an exploding population for several generations.