ABSTRACT
This chapter explores different answers to the question of how economic growth begins and can be maintained. It explains what exactly is supposed to grow when economic expansion takes place and includes critical approach to the idea of never-ending growth. A Malthusian society is trapped in a never-ending contest between a growing population and the limited resources at its disposal. The chapter focuses on the concerns for social development and environmental protection. The centrality of economic growth in post-World War 2 policy is also evident in the Treaty of Rome, the document signed in 1957 that marked the birth of the European Economic Community. Most economic historians endorse the view that it is technology that pushed and still pushes economic growth beyond the limits experienced in history. The view of nature as a subsystem of the economy helps clarify why one of the most fundamental economic laws, the law of diminishing returns, seems to apply to all economic activities.
