Every party promises a growing economy as a solution for everything – but can economic expansion carry on forever? On a planet with finite resources, can growth really be infinite? Ros Taylor talks to Daniel Susskind, economic professor and author of Growth: A History and a Reckoning, about the mystery of economic growth, what “degrowthers” want, and how to balance the pros and cons of an ever-expanding economy. 

• “Economic growth feels like it’s a permanent fixture, and yet for most of history there was no growth at all. Modern economic growth only really began about 200-250 years ago.” – Daniel Susskind 

• “One of the great mysteries in economics is that we actually know surprisingly little about the process of economic growth.” – Daniel Susskind 

• “One thing degrowthers get wrong is this idea that we cannot have infinite growth on a finite planet. I think we CAN have effectively infinite growth.” – Daniel Susskind 

Buy Growth: A History and a Reckoning through our affiliate bookshop and you’ll help fund The Bunker by earning us a small commission for every sale. Bookshop.org’s fees help support independent bookshops too.

We are sponsored by Indeed. Go to Indeed.com/bunker for £100 sponsored credit.

www.patreon.com/bunkercast   

Written and presented by Ros Taylor. Producer: Eliza Davis Beard. Audio editor: Robin Leeburn. Managing editor: Jacob Jarvis. Group Editor: Andrew Harrison. Music by Kenny Dickinson and artwork by James Parrett. THE BUNKER is a Podmasters Production. 

Instagram | Twitter  

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices