Opinion (Dennis Meadows, American scientist and Emeritus Professor of Systems Management, co-author of The Limits to Growth): “It is difficult to break the dependence of ‘personal dreams’ from GDP growth. So much attention in the world is focused on GDP growth and personal wellbeing because business needs to profit in the short term. Companies do not make a profit when you study, communicate with friends, read, or love. They profit when you buy something. That’s why friendship is not advertised, but a lot of products are advertised. That’s why the majority create a personal vision in terms of consumption. …

“But in the long term, catastrophe cannot be avoided. Catastrophe is not a particular year, but a process, which can last for centuries. …

“I think that it is possible to prepare for this period and mitigate the consequences. In this case, both efficiency and changing ‘personal dreams’ can help. …

“The main problems today are not in science, but in society. In science, I would single out a few basic points that need to be addressed. The first one is accumulation of energy. …

“The second one is finding new alternative sources of energy. …

“The third one is inventing the ways of producing, delivering, and storing food, which will be resistant to a shortage of fossil fuels, as the existing agriculture intensively uses hydrocarbons. Also, new ways must be resistant to climate change, especially changes in precipitation and an increase in temperature extremes. …

“In the 21^st century, the circumstances will be formed so that science will have to develop and implement the concept of ‘stability and flexibility,’ but not in terms of ‘sustainable development,’ but in terms of ‘system resilience.’ Moreover, this resistance should be not only technological, but also social. We face many challenges; science will not only have to open new horizons, but to solve problems. …

“The monetary system should be changed: …the existing concept of money is based on the concept of continuous growth. If there is no growth, there will be no basis for the existence of the current monetary system. …

“Education today is a preparation for life in the next 50 years. The current historical period is based on cheap fossil resources and will end in the coming decades. What will those people who studied to be an economist, financier, banker or lawyer do?

“In the USA in 2008, we saw the situation when a huge number of lawyers and investment bankers, who had performed the same and not the most necessary work, suddenly became redundant and found themselves on the street. …I believe that if you choose science and have a good education in science or engineering, then you know how and why nature, technology, and something works…When circumstances change, you will be in great demand!”

My Comment: The author does not suggest a solution. He believes that we will hold in this limbo for a long time and survive by conserving energy and food. The limit of the growth of egoism has been reached; it no longer develops, and that is why it does not require “fuel” for itself. It has become closed, global, and integral and thus requires correction, to be brought to the form in which it will be able to exist, that is, not withdrawing into itself, but becoming included in others. It forces itself to be corrected, like the Pharaoh who drove people out of Egypt through oppression.
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