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No !! Making new stuff doesn't increase wealth. It simply re-distributes wealth from the purchasor of the old stuff to the creator of the new. The old stuff they had loses value. Every time a new invention occurs, or behaviour changes, there is economically significant displacement activity.

Making a new film doesn't spontaneously create wealth, it just gets moved from consumer to producer. Same with inventions, same even with mining raw materials.

keep to the Fen Causeway

by Helen (lareinagal at yahoo dot co dot uk) on Thu Nov 26th, 2009 at 07:50:27 AM EST
[ Parent ]
I think you just mixed up "economy" with "energy".

Peak oil is not an energy crisis. It is a liquid fuel crisis.
by Starvid (arvid.hallen at gmail.com) on Thu Nov 26th, 2009 at 08:40:08 AM EST
[ Parent ]
Even then, since the Earth is an open system it is not true that the energy available to the economy cannot grow.

En un viejo país ineficiente, algo así como España entre dos guerras civiles, poseer una casa y poca hacienda y memoria ninguna. -- Gil de Biedma
by Migeru (migeru at eurotrib dot com) on Thu Nov 26th, 2009 at 08:51:45 AM EST
[ Parent ]
I meant as in "by and large wealth energy can be re-distributed but cannot be created or destroyed".

Peak oil is not an energy crisis. It is a liquid fuel crisis.
by Starvid (arvid.hallen at gmail.com) on Thu Nov 26th, 2009 at 09:05:31 AM EST
[ Parent ]
In a closed system.

En un viejo país ineficiente, algo así como España entre dos guerras civiles, poseer una casa y poca hacienda y memoria ninguna. -- Gil de Biedma
by Migeru (migeru at eurotrib dot com) on Thu Nov 26th, 2009 at 09:07:52 AM EST
[ Parent ]
The universe is a closed system, at least last time I checked. ;)

Peak oil is not an energy crisis. It is a liquid fuel crisis.
by Starvid (arvid.hallen at gmail.com) on Thu Nov 26th, 2009 at 09:15:14 AM EST
[ Parent ]
Is it?
by Colman (colman at eurotrib.com) on Thu Nov 26th, 2009 at 09:16:11 AM EST
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  1. we live on Earth and will for the foreseeable future - that is finite, but an open system
  2. the universe may not be finite - in fact, the most recent consensus is that it isn't, in which case again the space within out cosmological horizon may be bounded but the cosmological horizon would be the boundary of an open system


En un viejo país ineficiente, algo así como España entre dos guerras civiles, poseer una casa y poca hacienda y memoria ninguna. -- Gil de Biedma
by Migeru (migeru at eurotrib dot com) on Thu Nov 26th, 2009 at 09:18:28 AM EST
[ Parent ]
Making new stuff doesn't increase wealth.

Right, because an illuminated manuscript isn't worth more than a roll of parchment and a bottle of ink.

En un viejo país ineficiente, algo así como España entre dos guerras civiles, poseer una casa y poca hacienda y memoria ninguna. -- Gil de Biedma

by Migeru (migeru at eurotrib dot com) on Thu Nov 26th, 2009 at 08:45:50 AM EST
[ Parent ]
What do you mean when you say "wealth"?
by Colman (colman at eurotrib.com) on Thu Nov 26th, 2009 at 08:47:27 AM EST
[ Parent ]

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