Door Number Three

Door Number Three: The discussion goes on over the merits of fiscal and/or monetary policies in reviving the economy, with little notice given to the elephant standing over there pointing out that neither has done much good. And few economists seem to wonder why that might be; their theories say that one or the other or both will revive GDP growth. But what if an ever-growing GDP is dead, killed by high priced oil? What if the era of ever-growing GDP based on ever-growing consumption of resources and energy has ended?

This little paragraph is from a blog I just stumbled upon called "Some Assembly Required". Just what I need, another blog to get hooked on so I don't have time to read all the books I should be reading and which I promised myself I'd read when I retired . . . and that was seven years ago on January 3. Do I have to tell you that I've barely made a dent in the books? Retirement, it appears, throws up a bunch of distractions.

But to the point: isn't what's terribly wrong with the world is this foundational principle of capitalism: that success always equals more? Can we really not see that this way of life is going to be the end of us all? The era of ever-growing consumption is ended. Only problem is, millions of people don't know it.