4 ms·

If you solve hunger for the existing population, will it not just expand until scarcity increases again?

• riffraff 11y ago
  No, population has stopped growing in western society (where the vast majority of population has access to food) a long time ago, and the number of children per family have consistently decreased from "many" to ~2 as wealth, food and healthcare has reached developing countries.
  • jakub_h 11y ago
    The notion r/K selection always comes to my mind, regardless of whether or not this is correct and/or a fair analogy (since humans are generally considered clear K-strategists in general). Still, when a human society develops, it's almost like switching from a "slightly-more-r-ish" strategy to a "slightly-more-K-ish" one, given the higher survival chances of children and also the corresponding higher expenditure of time and resources necessary to prepare then to succeed in their environment.