A Quoran asks:
Is there a contradiction between the idea that population growth is necessary for economic growth and the fact that eventually we run out of food, fresh water, arable land, and so on? Are economists driving us over a cliff?
My Answer:
Absolutely! And congrats for catching on to the biggest Ponzi scheme ever.
What population growth is “necessary” for is enabling each generation to live with less work and more luxury than they can afford by expecting the next generation to support them rather than by saving properly for their retirement. And yes, eventually it will all collapse.
Economic growth driven by population growth does nothing for the average standard of living, and will just accelerate our progress towards the inevitable cliff.
But even without population growth, continued economic growth causes unsustainable resource pressure (unless the growth comes exclusively as a result of increased information density). And in any case the benefits are typically (especially in recent decades) stolen by a wealthy subclass so that even when GDP per capita is increasing the median standard of living is not.