The problem with economists is, like the rest of us they know nothing about economics, but unfortunately they like to pretend they do. I have as much confidence in economist getting it right as I do in having my butcher do an engine overhaul on my car. They like to posture and pose, speak jargon and gobble goop its all done with smoke and mirrors. Why do people become economists? Answer: Because they can't get a real job. I caught the bus down to my local butcher, he's not much of a motor mechanic, but a great economist I asked Merv what were his thoughts on the World economic cries, Merv said. "I've got a great special this week on snags, $4.99 a kilo." Now there is some real economic wisdom for you. With an economic mind like that me thinks Merv's is wasted down there in his butchers shop, should we not make Merv president of the World bank or something?

It is interesting to read the comments on the articles you write. I have come to the conclusion that people either believe in limits to growth or not. And I can see how people who don't believe in such limits would have problems with a view that attempts to deal with these limits. Time will tell of course but one of these views will be correct.

Atman, so what if the Club of Rome was formed by wealthy and influential "Euro aristocracy." This is simply an ad hominem argument with no supporting evidence. I also disagree with your comment that the LtG has been proven false. See: http://www.csiro.au/files/files/plje.pdf.

Bitey: increased productivity, if you mean labour productivity is the last thing we need. However if you are talking from an energy perspective then I would agree with you. We need to rethink our whole view of productivity. In the years ahead the more inefficient from a labour perspective we are the better as it will assist in providing employment (people might not be paid as much but at least they will have a job). The path we are headed on for productivity will see many able bodied people marginalised from our society. Productivity as currently defined was only plausible whilst energy was plentiful and cheap. As energy becomes increasingly scarce and expensive then our view of productivity will also change.

Peter Hume - The International Energy Agency has stated that we passed peak production for crude oil in 2006. See their World Energy Outlooks. This is one limit that has been reached. Whilst 'all liquids' production has increased, if you look at where the increases have come from (NGLs, biofuels, tar sands etc) they provide far less net benefit to society than crude oil. It appears that oil is the Liebig factor (the law of the minimum) that has or is limiting growth. I agree with your comment reference expansion of money and money substitutes. Once we hit a Liebig factor, growth can no longer continue regardless of the other resources available, hency why our current financial system is fatally flawed.

leckos
There are limiting factors and if we are running into one, and there's no substitute available, then yes it's a limit. But that's just a simple fact of nature. It's not, of itself, a criticism of our financial system. Money is not a claim to magic pudding. It's just a medium of exchange. No-one ever claimed that the use of money has the ability to make limitations imposed by nature go away. Even if we lived in a hunter-gatherer society we would still be faced with natural limits to growth. The two issues - limits to growth and our financial system, don't necessarily have anything to do with each other.

However fractional reserve banking *is* a claim to magic pudding, and is pursued as a deliberate policy of state-planned economic growth. I think it should be abolished.

I'm not an advocate of economic growth for its own sake. If people want to accumulate capital so they can produce more, it's fine by me. And if they want to consume capital so they can have satisfaction now at the cost of a possible greater future satisfaction, that's fine by me too. I just think they should be free to do either if they want, without being forced to sacrifice their values to sponsor someone else's belief in the coerced "management" of society or the economy.

Mister Hume, you cite Rothbard because ... ? His elitist view as to who is entitled to have an opinion is almost as discredited as his disgusting views on race. Excuse me if anyone purporting to have 'knowledge' of economic matters is afforded less credit than they think they deserve, but every time I read an article or watch the news, I see economists wringing their hands and announcing contrary views. For me, the fact that nobody knows what is happening economically is demonstrated by the total lack of agreement among economists as to what should be done next.

For example, how the world's greatest economy could so utterly mismanage it's own affairs would be funny, except for the thousands of people sleeping in their cars. I don't want to sleep in my car. Didn't the US Administration employ, like, economists and stuff to give advice? Maybe they could save some money (which seems to be the point) and sack anyone with an economics degree? Employ gypsies and tarot-card readers instead? Could anyone confidently say they would do a worse job?

Here in Australia, having fluked our way through the GFC, should we be stockpiling baked beans and powdered milk as the author suggests? When our starving northern neighbours descend on us in a low-tech tidal wave of hunger, in the hundreds of thousands, do we share our food with them, or ... ?

Forget oil or nuclear power, religion or politics, the next World War will be fought over food.

Lusker, finally someone has posted some sense on this topic. The only thing I don't agree with is "Employ gypsies and tarot-card readers" gypsies are far more reliable when they use their crystal balls.
While on the subject of economic guru's. I've been back to Merv's butcher shop. I did ask "Merv, what ya think of the Italian debt crisis?" Merv's reply "Gee, well, ah! I've got topside mince at $6.99 a keg, makes a great spaghetti bolognese." The man's an economic genius, can feed a family of 4 for less than 10 bucks. I wonder if Merv's got any gypsy in him? If you need any political advice there is Terry the taxi driver, when it comes to politics Terry's an expert on every thing.