Thanks, but I'm definitely going to fire my copy editor.

I wonder if there's not some steady condition that's workable (or maybe that's workable for some other animal than humans).  You know, a lot of energy used to replace things with new and better things, but not assuming we'll always be able to move more and more things.  We need more people to keep moving more things.  How can a company like McDonald's even grow, unless it finds more markets, diversifies, or just if more mouths are generated? 

The way the benefits of growth are distributed (and treated) is another matter too, and I don't think I disagree with you on anything you said.  Dividends sound nice, and I'm sure they're nice for large investors, but in practice, they seem to be dumb from a health-of-the-corporation standpoint (as stupid as massively rewarding the CEO and board while stiffing the employees). 

On the other hand, there's a big fraction of the world population that would arguably be better off consuming (and producing) more and reproducing less.  We're watching that happen now in India and China.  Hope there's enough oil.