Philip Longman explained why depopulation is a problem in this 2004 Long Now lecture[0]. One of the main issues is that infrastructure and social spending is im

Philip Longman explained why depopulation is a problem in this 2004 Long Now lecture[0]. One of the main issues is that infrastructure and social spending is implemented as a pyramid scheme (he didn't put it quite that way IIRC). If you don't have an expanding population, you can't pay for all the programs that have been enacted. Of course, population can not expand indefinitely and there's no political will to avoid passing financial burdens to future generations. [0] http://longnow.org/seminars/02004/aug/13/the-depopulation-problem/ http://longnow.org/seminars/02004/aug/13/the-depopulation-pr...