Z.E.G. entails Z.P.G.

What Mr Turnovsky had really come to talk about was economic growth. It was useless, he said, to talk about zero economic growth while population was increasing, because this could only result in declining standards of living. This assumes that those people who call for zero economic growth do not presuppose zero population growth but they do. Even the Values Party managed to make Z.P.G. a precondition for zero economic growth.

The main argument that was used to emphasize the importance of economic growth was that growth is necessary if we are to be able to afford to clean up the environment, and to provide more and better cultural and recreational facilities. In terms of economic theory, this argument is totally invalid. These facilities, and the costs involved with them, can be provided by diverting to these ends the resources that would otherwise be used for growth.