In 2008 the world economy reached a turning point. It wasn't just a bump in the road, we reached the end of a 30-year period of history. We can't carry on that path anymore... The belief that growth was going to go on forever, the belief that we could carry on borrowing, the belief that consumption was the goal, all of that has to change, because we simply can not carry on borrowing anymore. If you look at the average American consumer they've borrowed beyond their capacity. Banks are bust, although we don't talk about that. The U.S. Federal Government's debts are off the scale. At some point, you have to stop borrowing or go bust and start paying that money back.

Unfortunately nobody wants to do this, nobody wants to hear the message that you can't carry on growing forever. But ... "on a finite planet, the only people who believe we can grow forever are the mad, or economists."

We should blame the economists for their sloppy thinking and the politicians for selling us such twaddle.

This will be Obama's legacy to the U.S. people and the world.

If people went about their business the same as usual before this happened. The downturn would not nearly be as big. It's consumer confidence that is holding up economic growth.

Sound comments Geoff of Perth.

We cannot possibly continue in the current pattern. The con merchants, a minority, who perpetuate this myth amid booming global population growth and increasing pressures on resources, only do future generations a disservice.

Economies are about providing goods and services. This as the premise allows for frameworks other than the continual growth model.

The economists who cannot see the 'end point' of this exercise wield too much influence. Not all economists buy into the growth myth, although at this time mostly they are commentators on the sidelines and do not hold much sway with policy makers.