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Is There a Growth Imperative Inherent in Our Financial System?

Felix Fuders & Milagros Guerrero

American Journal of Economics and Sociology2026https://doi.org/10.1111/ajes.70036article
AJG 2ABDC B
Weight
0.37

Abstract

In the article “Gesell's Natural Economic Order as a Blueprint for a ‘Fairconomy’ and a Sustainable Future” in this special issue, it was explained why and how our monetary system forces us to constantly increase economic output. However, whether or not there is in fact such a growth imperative inherent in our monetary system is a topic of ongoing debate in ecological economics and bio‐economics, while conventional economic wisdom still outright rejects the concept entirely. This article categorizes into five groups the arguments often offered against the existence of a growth imperative inherent in our monetary system. It then discusses and discards each of the arguments. Using the case of Chile's forests and aquaculture management zones, it will be explained why this growth imperative applies to private and public goods alike. Even though a natural resource may be privately owned, this does not guarantee that the resource will not be overexploited.

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https://doi.org/https://doi.org/10.1111/ajes.70036

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@article{felix2026,
  title        = {{Is There a Growth Imperative Inherent in Our Financial System?}},
  author       = {Felix Fuders & Milagros Guerrero},
  journal      = {American Journal of Economics and Sociology},
  year         = {2026},
  doi          = {https://doi.org/https://doi.org/10.1111/ajes.70036},
}

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Is There a Growth Imperative Inherent in Our Financial System?

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Evidence weight

0.37

Balanced mode · F 0.40 / M 0.15 / V 0.05 / R 0.40

F · citation impact0.16 × 0.4 = 0.06
M · momentum0.53 × 0.15 = 0.08
V · venue signal0.50 × 0.05 = 0.03
R · text relevance †0.50 × 0.4 = 0.20

† Text relevance is estimated at 0.50 on the detail page — for your query’s actual relevance score, open this paper from a search result.