Q: Still shovelling dirt onto old Tommy Malthus's grave, economists and social scientists insist that the free market liberal democracies, which have been so successful in creating value and prosperity must, by virtue of their design, continually grow to succeed. I can see that value and prosperity growth would inherently exist with a growing population. However, when removing population growth variables from the equation, is it possible to have a stable, egalitarian socio-economic model that ensures increasing prosperity for all? Could zero population growth invite a whole new, economic model that would actually enrich mankind? Or, is some variation of our free market liberal democracy still the way to go? Let me unload that last question: Is our system (capitalistic liberal democracy) the best there is, or can be?
A: If you don't grow, you stagnate and eventually regress. But, I agree, some have to succeed and some must fail. It's part of capitalism.