# Is indefinite exponential economic growth possible?

Economic growth is frequently expressed as a % of GDP. Proponents of a steady-state economy postulate that perpetual exponential economic growth is impossible and that any system relying on it is inherently unstable. Is this true?

Is indefinite exponential economic growth possible?

• The answer, of course, is yes in some models and no in others. If you're asking for a survey of the growth literature, this question is too broad. Otherwise, it should be about a specific model or class of models. Dec 4 '14 at 21:03
• @StevenLandsburg - what about real life, instead of models which can be constructed either way? Dec 5 '14 at 0:49
• @DeerHunter: In real life, the Universe will pretty much die out in another $10^{15}$ years or so, so the answer is no, you can't have exponential growth "forever". If you want to ask a sensible question about this, it needs to be in the context of a model. Dec 5 '14 at 1:10
• Kenneth Boulding: "Anyone who believes exponential growth can go on forever in a finite world is either a madman or an economist." Aug 17 '17 at 21:52