“Anyone who believes exponential growth can go on forever in a finite world is either a madman or an economist.”

Attributed to Kenneth Boulding in: United States. Congress. House (1973) Energy reorganization act of 1973: Hearings, Ninety-third Congress, first session, on H.R. 11510. p. 248
1970s
Variant: Anyone who believes in indefinite growth in anything physical, on a physically finite planet, is either mad or an economist.

Adopted from Wikiquote. Last update June 3, 2021. History

Help us to complete the source, original and additional information

Do you have more details about the quote "Anyone who believes exponential growth can go on forever in a finite world is either a madman or an economist." by Kenneth E. Boulding?
Kenneth E. Boulding photo
Kenneth E. Boulding 163
British-American economist 1910–1993

Related quotes

“A finite world can support only a finite population; therefore, population growth must eventually equal zero.”

Garrett Hardin (1915–2003) American ecologist

Tragedy of the Commons, 1968.
Tragedy of the Commons (1968)

L. Ron Hubbard photo

“Oh yes! The one man in the world who never believes he's mad is the madman.”

L. Ron Hubbard (1911–1986) American science fiction author, philosopher, cult leader, and the founder of the Church of Scientology

In answer to the question as to whether he ever thought he might be quite mad. Granada Television documentary on Scientology http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L_w-YWwC1lI#t=1503.

Robert Costanza photo
Jodi Picoult photo
Kurien Kunnumpuram photo

“If the world had a finite reality as its goal, then it has only a limited possibility of growth. But when the world has the Infinite God as its goal, it has endless possibilities of growth and development.”

Kurien Kunnumpuram (1931–2018) Indian theologian

Kunnumpuram, Kurien, 2011 “Theological Exploration,” Jnanadeepa: Pune Journal of Religious Studies 14/2 (July-Dec 2011)
On God

Didier Sornette photo

“Thus the so-called Moore's law is incorrect, since it implies only an exponential growth.”

Didier Sornette (1957) French scientist

Source: Why Stock Markets Crash - Critical Events in Complex Systems (2003), Chapter 10, 2050: The End Of The Growth Era?, p. 379.
Context: Faster-than-exponential growth also occurs in computing power, as measured by the evolution of the number of MIPS per $1,000 of computer from 1900 to 1997. Thus the so-called Moore's law is incorrect, since it implies only an exponential growth. This faster than exponential acceleration has been argued to lead to a transition to a new era, around 2030, corresponding to the epoch when we will have the technological means to create superhuman intelligence.

Didier Sornette photo

“Only a faster-than-exponential stock market growth makes private investors feel richer.”

Didier Sornette (1957) French scientist

Source: Why Stock Markets Crash - Critical Events in Complex Systems (2003), Chapter 10, 2050: The End Of The Growth Era?, p. 375
Context: In order to have a continuing influence, the stock market has to continue rising at an accelerating pace faster than exponential. Only a faster-than-exponential stock market growth makes private investors feel richer.

“Economic systems come, and economic systems go. No economic system lasts forever. Capitalism is not likely to last forever, either.”

Jim Stanford (1961) Canadian economist

Part 1, Chapter 3, Economic History, p. 43
Economics For Everyone (2008)

“Problems do not go away. They must be worked through or else they remain, forever a barrier to the growth and development of the spirit.”

M. Scott Peck (1936–2005) American psychiatrist

Source: The Road Less Traveled: A New Psychology of Love, Traditional Values and Spiritual Growth

Related topics