3 ms·
It's a taboo word for many reasons that are easy to explain, but mainly because there's nothing that can be done about it. You can try and "build more housing",
by old-gregg 7y ago
It's a taboo word for many reasons that are easy to explain, but mainly because there's nothing that can be done about it. You can try and "build more housing", you can "make it more expensive", you can "implement a lottery system" but you can't get rid of people, so it's not a constructive discussion.
The book "Collapse" by Jared Diamond covers this pretty well.
- dougmwne 7y agoThere's absolutely things that can be done that don't involve authoritarian dystopia. Access to contraception and family planning resources. Education. Better childhood healthcare. Improved rights and economic independence for women. Decreased tax incentives for having more children. Improved economic systems that don't rely on endless population growth. Population growth in most of the developed world is already below replacement once you exclude immigration. So we've already arrived at a successful formula that solves overpopulation without limiting personal freedom.
- quacked 7y agoIt's tough because it would require literally every single person caring more about a nebulous concept of "humanity" and "longevity" than they would themselves, their families, and the next 40 years of world issues. A seriously smart human race would self-limit birthrates to replacement rates and focus efforts on long-term survival mechanisms (asteroid monitoring and redirection, wildlife and environmental management, wide-ranging health care, etc.) but it's so hard to get people to get on board.