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Even if extreme measures did become necessary, they wouldn't have to be that extreme. For example, if everyone were limited to a maximum of one child, even if
by tempestn 11y ago
Even if extreme measures did become necessary, they wouldn't have to be that extreme. For example, if everyone were limited to a maximum of one child, even if no one ever died from any cause, the population would still be capped at double the starting level.
- prodigal_erik 11y agoDo you mean every couple is limited to one child? Because if every person could have one, every couple could have two and they all live forever, that grows without limit. But if everyone gets half a child, that's basically Niven's birthright system.
- tempestn 11y agoIf a couple has two children, each person in that couple has two children as well, not one. IE, if you ask a father of two how many children he has, the answer is "two", not "one; the other one is my wife's". So saying each person gets one child is basically equivalent to saying each couple gets one child, except there's no need to include the concept of a "couple" in the equation.