There seems to be a lot of discussion in this thread hinting at the detriment of economic slowdown. Can we all agree that ever-increasing industrial GDP, inflation notwithstanding, will ultimately be problematic?
It must be driven by either population or productivity per capita increase, period.
Industrial economies cannot continue to grow in this unregulated way forever, due to it increasing both the environmental impacts and wealth disparity. That said, information economies can grow much more aggressively without the negative impacts- but we don't have a system for adequately valuing information GDP, i.e. rewarding people for creating content.
If our society is becoming entertainment-centric (which is great, and inevitable) then we need to figure out how every person can ascertain a quality-of-life standard through providing entertainment.
Eventually natural resources and industrial production will be completely automated. Obviously the trickle-down economic theory does not hold up in that situation.
It must be driven by either population or productivity per capita increase, period.
Industrial economies cannot continue to grow in this unregulated way forever, due to it increasing both the environmental impacts and wealth disparity. That said, information economies can grow much more aggressively without the negative impacts- but we don't have a system for adequately valuing information GDP, i.e. rewarding people for creating content.
If our society is becoming entertainment-centric (which is great, and inevitable) then we need to figure out how every person can ascertain a quality-of-life standard through providing entertainment.
Eventually natural resources and industrial production will be completely automated. Obviously the trickle-down economic theory does not hold up in that situation.