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Great response. Panic over overpopulation is a tired canard that has become particularly dangerous in recent years as declining rich-world birth rates wreak hav

Great response. Panic over overpopulation is a tired canard that has become particularly dangerous in recent years as declining rich-world birth rates wreak havoc on societies that lack young workers to support aging populations. Japan's thirty year economic stagnation should serve as a warning to any society that seeks to actively discourage fertility.

HillaryBriss 11y ago
Re: Japan - Economist Dean Baker makes the case that Japan's population decline is not all bad: "The decline in population is in fact a benefit in many respects for Japan. It is a very crowded island with expensive land prices. A falling population will reduce the pressure on land making housing more affordable. It will also reduce congestion in cities. In addition, the decline in population will make it easier for Japan to meet commitments for reducing greenhouse gas emissions..." http://www.cepr.net/blogs/beat-the-press/contrary-to-the-nyts-assertion-japan-does-not-qface-a-looming-demographic-squeezeq http://www.cepr.net/blogs/beat-the-press/contrary-to-the-nyt...
- kazinator 11y ago
  > It is a very crowded island with expensive land prices. But that is only a popular image of Japan. Areas clustered close to the central districts of large cities are crowded with expensive land prices. But even in the suburban outskirts of the Tokyo metropolitan area (pop. 37 million), there is plenty of space. Farm land, forests, empty tracts of land, golf courses, ... you name it. Most residential dwellings are fully detached single family homes. We have Google Street View; anyone can check this easily. E.g. Noda City, area close to the Edo river, not far from Umesato train station: https://www.google.com/maps/@35.9133252,139.8796061,3a,75y,26.22h,77.56t/data=!3m7!1e1!3m5!1sfbg-4wn5bFksUqzMlaRdeQ!2e0!6s%2F%2Fgeo0.ggpht.com%2Fcbk%3Fpanoid%3Dfbg-4wn5bFksUqzMlaRdeQ%26output%3Dthumbnail%26cb_client%3Dmaps_sv.tactile.gps%26thumb%3D2%26w%3D203%26h%3D100%26yaw%3D296.9118%26pitch%3D0!7i13312!8i6656!6m1!1e1 https://www.google.com/maps/@35.9133252,139.8796061,3a,75y,2...
  - selimthegrim 11y ago
    http://www.michaeljohngrist.com/ruins-gallery/ghost-towns/ http://www.michaeljohngrist.com/ruins-gallery/ghost-towns/
  - HillaryBriss 11y ago
    Despite this "abundance" of land, Japan has not found a way to produce enough food. http://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2008/02/26/reference/japan-needs-imports-to-keep-itself-fed/#.VjPyqLfnup0 http://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2008/02/26/reference/japan-...
  - WildUtah 11y ago
    Japan does very well in managing the land it has. The country is especially good at medium density urban development (about 150 per hectare). But the quality of life and access to wild land, open space, wilderness, forest, woodlands, park space, farm land, ski slopes, bike trails, and beaches will improve with less population. The pressured fish stocks will be able to recover and free range beef won't be so expensive. Living space will be much cheaper and wages will be higher. Maximizing population is not the goal of a community. Offering the best chance at a good life is. And as long as we are rational animals and not economic production robots, that is dependent on more land available per person. Japan will be much better off in 2100 with 60-80 MM people than it is today with 127MM in the same land area. Here's hoping that the mass immigrationists don't get a chance to ruin it.

HillaryBriss 11y ago

Re: Japan - Economist Dean Baker makes the case that Japan's population decline is not all bad: "The decline in population is in fact a benefit in many respects for Japan. It is a very crowded island with expensive land prices. A falling population will reduce the pressure on land making housing more affordable. It will also reduce congestion in cities. In addition, the decline in population will make it easier for Japan to meet commitments for reducing greenhouse gas emissions..." http://www.cepr.net/blogs/beat-the-press/contrary-to-the-nyts-assertion-japan-does-not-qface-a-looming-demographic-squeezeq http://www.cepr.net/blogs/beat-the-press/contrary-to-the-nyt...

kazinator 11y ago
> It is a very crowded island with expensive land prices. But that is only a popular image of Japan. Areas clustered close to the central districts of large cities are crowded with expensive land prices. But even in the suburban outskirts of the Tokyo metropolitan area (pop. 37 million), there is plenty of space. Farm land, forests, empty tracts of land, golf courses, ... you name it. Most residential dwellings are fully detached single family homes. We have Google Street View; anyone can check this easily. E.g. Noda City, area close to the Edo river, not far from Umesato train station: https://www.google.com/maps/@35.9133252,139.8796061,3a,75y,26.22h,77.56t/data=!3m7!1e1!3m5!1sfbg-4wn5bFksUqzMlaRdeQ!2e0!6s%2F%2Fgeo0.ggpht.com%2Fcbk%3Fpanoid%3Dfbg-4wn5bFksUqzMlaRdeQ%26output%3Dthumbnail%26cb_client%3Dmaps_sv.tactile.gps%26thumb%3D2%26w%3D203%26h%3D100%26yaw%3D296.9118%26pitch%3D0!7i13312!8i6656!6m1!1e1 https://www.google.com/maps/@35.9133252,139.8796061,3a,75y,2...
- selimthegrim 11y ago
  http://www.michaeljohngrist.com/ruins-gallery/ghost-towns/ http://www.michaeljohngrist.com/ruins-gallery/ghost-towns/
- HillaryBriss 11y ago
  Despite this "abundance" of land, Japan has not found a way to produce enough food. http://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2008/02/26/reference/japan-needs-imports-to-keep-itself-fed/#.VjPyqLfnup0 http://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2008/02/26/reference/japan-...
- WildUtah 11y ago
  Japan does very well in managing the land it has. The country is especially good at medium density urban development (about 150 per hectare). But the quality of life and access to wild land, open space, wilderness, forest, woodlands, park space, farm land, ski slopes, bike trails, and beaches will improve with less population. The pressured fish stocks will be able to recover and free range beef won't be so expensive. Living space will be much cheaper and wages will be higher. Maximizing population is not the goal of a community. Offering the best chance at a good life is. And as long as we are rational animals and not economic production robots, that is dependent on more land available per person. Japan will be much better off in 2100 with 60-80 MM people than it is today with 127MM in the same land area. Here's hoping that the mass immigrationists don't get a chance to ruin it.