Growth means more profits. Without it, profits fall (even faster) and the system starts to break down. Capital halts investment because it can't get sufficient profits and gets used on even dumber things. Nerds would identify it as a liquidity crisis.
Marx was right that profits have a tendency to fall over time in a "functioning" capitalist system, as competition + automation drives down profit margins. You can also think of growth as an attempt to outrun this tendency. Monopolization and imperialism are as well, like an escape hatch from decreasing profits.
Growth means more profits. Without it, profits fall (even faster) and the system starts to break down. Capital halts investment because it can't get sufficient profits and gets used on even dumber things. Nerds would identify it as a liquidity crisis.
Marx was right that profits have a tendency to fall over time in a "functioning" capitalist system, as competition + automation drives down profit margins. You can also think of growth as an attempt to outrun this tendency. Monopolization and imperialism are as well, like an escape hatch from decreasing profits.