The Mathematics that Contemporary Economics Ignores

Craig Mackintosh

With all the talk of a new carbon economy and dreams of new sources of energy so we can continue with our contemporary understanding of human 'progress' - continual economic growth - I wonder if a few facts may be getting overlooked. You might not have time to watch these clips in one sitting, but do bookmark it so you can come back and watch them through.

Here we have Dr. Albert Bartlett, Professor Emeritus of the Department of Physics, University of Boulder Colorado talking about Peak Oil and Population Growth from a mathematics perspective. Essentially, Limited Resources + Exponential Growth = Only a Matter of Time. As he says, it's not rocket science, but nevertheless the consequences of these simple calculations are being almost universally ignored in our consumer-oriented economy - and by the politicians and industry that run them. Warning: Dry Sense of Humour Alert!

Part I

Part II

Part III

Part IV

Part V

Part VI

Part VII

Part VIII

 

Further Reading:

3 comments

If you see any unhelpful comments, please let us know immediately.

Eddie (anonymous)

Growth for the sake of growth is the ideology of the cancer cell.
-- Edward Abbey.

Written in October 2008

Eddie B. 175°

Growth for the sake of growth is the ideology of the cancer cell.
-- Edward Abbey.

Written in October 2008

norm (anonymous)

yes, go figure

Written in September 2009

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  • Posted on Dec. 16, 2007. Listed in:

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