As such, the money supply had to keep growing to service the interest on the debt, making perpetual economic growth a necessity to keep the entire system running. This reliance on the future growth of money extends also to the capital invested in companies. Corporations are valued as a multiple of their current earnings, so most of the financial wealth in our society really represents a claim on the future wealth still to be created. All these expectations for a return on capital are ultimately based on a presumption of continued economic growth in society at large. Failure to grow—or even
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