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We should be much more worried about population collapse – Elon Musk
- newbamboo 5y agoUsually don’t disagree with Elon but, “UN projections are utter nonsense. Just multiply last year’s births by life expectancy. Given downward trend in birth rate, that is best case unless reversed.” seems dubious. There are good reasons to think last year’s birth rate is anomalous. His larger point about population decline is a worthy one.
- mytailorisrich 5y agoWe were 1.5 billion in 1900. We are 8+ billion now. This has been a disaster for the climate and environment. Less people requires a paradigm shift and it is a challenge, not least for businesses that always look for growth through more and more customers. On the other hand, this is a tremendous opportunity to focus on per capita metrics and quality of life in a way that is sustainable.
- innagadadavida 5y agoFewer people means the economy and finance will shrink. This is not something our system is designed - almost all economic models need constant growth, which as you rightly mentioned is achieved at great cost to the environment and other species. I also feel that fewer people will also translate to fewer billionaires and newly minted rich folks and transfer some power balance to people willing to do the labor.
- mytailorisrich 5y agoUltimately it is more useful and impactful for individuals that the economy and incomes grow per capita. The economy may shrink overall with the decreasing population, but people may still become better off individually.