it is 'difficult, probably impossible' to define such optimum levels; even more, in his final analysis Daly agrees with his teacher and mentor Georgescu-Roegen that no defined optimum will be able to last forever (see above). Capitalism without growth Several radical critics of capitalism have questioned the possibility of ever imposing a steady-state or a declining-state (degrowth) system as a superstructure on top of capitalism. Taken together, these critics point to the following growth dynamics inherent in capitalism: Economic activity is generally guided by the profit motive, a competitive work ethos and the drive to accumulate capital and wealth for its own sake to gratify personal ambition, provide social prestige — or simply to get rich in a hurry. Psychologically, these drives in the work sphere repress and distort biological and social homeostasis in most people. Employments and incomes depend directly on sales revenues, that is, on people spending money on the consumption of goods and services for sale on the market. This dependency creates a pecuniary incentive to increase sales as much as possible. To this end, much cunning advertising is devised to manipulate human wants and prop up consumption patterns, often resulting in lavish and wasteful consumerism. The financial system is based on fractional-reserve banking, enabling commercial banks to hold reserves in amounts that are less than their deposit liabilities. This credit creation is multiplying the monetary base supplied by the central bank in order to assist private corporations expanding their activities. Technological development exhibits a strong labour-saving bias, creating the need to provide new employment elsewhere in the economy for workers displaced by the introduction of new technology. Private corporations generally resist government regulations and restrictions that impede profits and deter investment opportunities. Attempts to downscale the economy would rapidly degenerate into economic crisis and political instability on this count alone. Governments need tax revenues to service their debt obligations, run their institutions and finance their welfare programmes for the benefit of the public. Tax revenues are collected from general economic activity. In the capitalist world economy, globalisation intensifies competition everywhere, both within and between countries. National governments are compelled to compete and struggle with each other to provide employment, investments, tax revenues and wealth for their own populations. — In short: There is no end to the systemic and ecologically harmful growth dynamics in modern capitalism, radical critics assert. Fully aware of the massive growth dynamics