Partly, I had in mind a version of the astronomical waste argument: if you think that we should basically ignore the possibility of preventing extinction or pre-mature stagnation (e.g. for Pascal’s mugging reasons), and you’re optimistic about where the growth process is bringing us, then maybe we should just try to develop an awesome technologically advanced civilization as quickly as possible so that more people can ultimately live in it. IRRC Tyler Cowen argues for something at least sort of in this ballpark, in Stubborn Attachments. I think you’d need pretty specific assumptions to make this sort of argument work, though.
Jumping the growth process forward can also reduce some existential risks. The risk of humanity getting wiped out by a natural disasters, like asteroids, probably gets lower the more technologically sophisticated we become; so, for example, kickstarting the Industrial Revolution earlier would have meant a shorter “time of peril” for natural risks. Leo Aschenbrenner’s paper “Economic Growth and Existential Risk” considers a more complicated version of this argument in the context of anthropogenic risks, which takes into account the fact that growth can also contribute to these risks.
What are the arguments that speeding up economic growth has a positive long run impact?
Partly, I had in mind a version of the astronomical waste argument: if you think that we should basically ignore the possibility of preventing extinction or pre-mature stagnation (e.g. for Pascal’s mugging reasons), and you’re optimistic about where the growth process is bringing us, then maybe we should just try to develop an awesome technologically advanced civilization as quickly as possible so that more people can ultimately live in it. IRRC Tyler Cowen argues for something at least sort of in this ballpark, in Stubborn Attachments. I think you’d need pretty specific assumptions to make this sort of argument work, though.
Jumping the growth process forward can also reduce some existential risks. The risk of humanity getting wiped out by a natural disasters, like asteroids, probably gets lower the more technologically sophisticated we become; so, for example, kickstarting the Industrial Revolution earlier would have meant a shorter “time of peril” for natural risks. Leo Aschenbrenner’s paper “Economic Growth and Existential Risk” considers a more complicated version of this argument in the context of anthropogenic risks, which takes into account the fact that growth can also contribute to these risks.