AskProfWolff: Why Capitalism Is Obsessed With Growth

  • 2 years ago
A Patron of Democracy at Work asks: "The focus on economic growth, something you talked about in the September 2022 Global Capitalism lecture, seems misplaced, at least for rich nations. I'm reminded of the Kenneth Boulding quote from the early 1970’s—“Anyone who believes that exponential growth can go on forever in a finite world is either a madman or an economist.” Can you please give your perspective on the obsession with economic growth that is seen almost everywhere? There is a degrowth movement which I believe you have mentioned in a discussion of capitalism. Where would economic growth stand in a socialist perspective?"

This is Professor Richard Wolff's video response.

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