Projects per year
Abstract
First, I update and wrap up the discussion on a monetary growth imperative, namely the argument that debt-moneybearing interest triggers real GDP growth. I provide a detailed account of thedifferent versions of the argument and show why none of them hold. In allcases, the argument is shown to be inconsistent in macro-accounting terms or tobe at odds with the functioning of the monetary system. The general solution tothe monetary growth imperative is that a sufficient share of wealth must be putback in circulation, for example via higher consumption out of wealth ortaxation. Moreover, I show that a monetary growth imperative could equally welloccur in an economy without debt-money or interest. However, the solution tothe monetary growth imperative entails a sustainability paradox: more wealthput back in circulation allows to reach a stable full stationary state but maybe environmentally unsustainable. I also highlight convergences between thecritique of the monetary growth imperative and the monetary circuit literature.Second, I address the criticism that no net wealth accumulation is unrealistic.It requires to explain why there is accumulation in the first place. Buildingfrom post-Keynesian and institutionalist perspectives, I argue that we need tolocate the analysis at the level of the definitional social relations ofcapitalism: market exchange and wage labour. Growth imperatives are emergingproperties of these two social relations. I develop a critique of steady stateeconomics and underline the ontological difference between a zero-growth capitalism and a post-growth economy.
Original language | English |
---|---|
Publisher | WU Vienna University of Economics and Business |
Pages | 1-28 |
Number of pages | 28 |
DOIs | |
Publication status | Published - Aug 2022 |
Publication series
Series | Ecological Economic Papers |
---|---|
Number | 43/2022 |
WU Working Paper Series
- Ecological Economic Papers
Keywords
- growth imperative
- capitalism
- paradox of profit
- ecological macroeconomics
- post-growth
Projects
- 2 Finished
-
Disruptive money: Transition risks management in monetary policy and financial regulation and growth regime stability
Cahen-Fourot, L. (Deputy project head without power of attorney ), Knauss, S. (PI - Project head) & Konrad, V. (Contact person for administrative matters)
1/02/21 → 31/08/23
Project: Research funding
-
Disruptive Money: Disruptive Money
Knauss, S. (PI - Project head), Konrad, V. (Contact person for administrative matters) & Cahen-Fourot, L. (Deputy project head without power of attorney )
1/02/21 → 31/08/24
Project: Research