But neither the Northern European nor Japanese models can cope with negative real growth in consumption. Nor negative real growth in savings.
There is a fundamental issue in capitalism that there must always be growth. Without growth, the entire concept of investment breaks down and the business cycle cannot continue. You could totally replace it with something that isn't capitalism, but that's not a small endeavor and won't happen without massive conflict.
Our current reality is that if the population shrinks significantly, there is a good likelihood that will happen.
There is a fundamental issue in capitalism that there must always be growth. Without growth, the entire concept of investment breaks down and the business cycle cannot continue. You could totally replace it with something that isn't capitalism, but that's not a small endeavor and won't happen without massive conflict.
Our current reality is that if the population shrinks significantly, there is a good likelihood that will happen.