Is this even possible? I discussed the "endless growth in a finite world" problem within capitalism with a liberal, and he argued that all natural resources besides gold can be reproduced through chemistry - therefore, we will not have any problem with infinite growth as our resources will never dry out.
I argued that the process of reproducing natural resources most likely is very costly and that it is virtually impossible to satisfy the needs for resources through chemistry. I also argued that if it was possible to reproduce natural resources in such a way that would be required if all resources would be produced this way, why the price for such resources isn't incredibly low - seen from basic supply/demand mechanics.
Is the liberal dude right? It sounds too good to be true, to be honest.