The ever growing hamster

The New Economics Foundation has published a new report arguing that economical "growth isn't possible". Their intention with the video above is to confront people with the meaning and logical conclusion of the promise of endless economic growth. As economists and politicians express their relief that the economy has grown by 0.1% in the last month, the NEF warns that we should be wary of celebrating rising GDP.

"We are using a hamster to illustrate what would happen if there were no limits to growth because they double in size each week before reaching maturity at around 6 weeks. But if a hamster grew at the same rate until its first birthday, we'd be looking at a nine billion tonne hamster, which ate more than a years worth of world maize production every day. There are reasons in nature, why things dont grow indefinitely. As things are in nature, sooner or later, so they must be in the economy. As economic growth rises, we are pushing the planet ever closer to, and beyond some very real environmental limits. With every doubling in the global economy we use the equivalent in resources of all of the previous doublings combined."