It ran out of room.

Reading about the property bubble in Moneyweek, "This bubble stopped growing simply because it ran out of room. It just couldn't get any bigger. " I suddenly realised that apply this to Capitalism and this is the argument against economic growth. There is no reason for economic growth except for fluctuations in population. I've argued this at length before. The only possible reason for 'interest' in it is exactly that, so the Capitalists can get a second income from the money they already have. A ludicrous system but one that seems to get parsed without complaint by most people - I suppose because they get there pittance in bank interest. So the rich have every reason to expand the economy in any direction it can go: from deforestation, to obesity in children, to IT and housing booms.

The degregation of the planet has everything in common with the housing boom and the root lies in the ability to get returns on capital. Abrahamic religions outlaw this practice within their communities, yet we seem have to forgotten this.

We can blame Greenspan for keeping interest rates low and putting off the IT crash, we can blame food companies for unscrupulous exploitation of children, we can blame cigarette companies when at root it is just people trying to get rich, and worst the investors looking for any rising price to invest in.

The problems go to the heart of the modern world, and to the heart indeed of humanity and its history. Question are we closer to resolving, or closer to forgetting there is a problem... i think the latter. And when the boom that is human race runs out of room then what?