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I'm not in SK but in the US. I decided long ago to not have children (I'm a man) along with my wife. Maybe we'll change our mind one day, but more than likely i

I'm not in SK but in the US. I decided long ago to not have children (I'm a man) along with my wife. Maybe we'll change our mind one day, but more than likely it won't. I honestly just don't think its my responsibility to contribute to some "greater good" of continuing to populate the earth. Humans survived just fine when the population of the Earth was half the size of now. This is extremely selfish and probably not seen in a good light, but since I don't have children nor do I plan to, I honestly don't really care that much what happens after I pass when it comes to the population, etc. Not to be mistaken though, while I live I won't try to actively make things worse for anybody.

bryanlarsen 3y ago
Just as long as you recognize that if the worker/retiree ratio gets significantly out of whack, the demand for services needed by retirees is going to massively outstrip supply supply so inflation is going to kill any retirement savings you're planning on. If you're directly or indirectly working on that problem somehow, you're probably doing far more good for future humans than you would just by having kids.
- dougmwne 3y ago
  Rich countries will just keep importing labor. The large aged population will throw out any government that threatens their quality of life in retirement. Middle income and poor countries with low birth rates may suffer greatly from having their working aged populations poached.
  - bryanlarsen 3y ago
    This is an article about Korea, a country which is not doing so, and is quite likely incapable of doing so in the quantities needed to offset a 0.7 TFR.
  - pixl97 3y ago
    >Rich countries will just keep importing labor. This only works so long.... We are running into the issue where almost no rich countries are producing excess population. Couple that with the countries we think of as excess population producers have massively reduced their own birth rates, then one day those rich countries will start having to pay very large amounts for imports, hence threatening the quality of life by increase costs.
dougmwne 3y ago
I really don’t see why you should have a moral obligation to continue the unsustainable overpopulation of the planet. Every single scrap of science tells us that we have overshot the planet’s carrying capacity along every dimension we care to measure. And yeah, one more person may contribute a tiny bit to a GDP and SP500 number, but those numbers will be irrelevant when the soil no longer yields food.
ars 3y ago
What's your plan when you get old enough to need daily care? I can tell you right now that elderly in nursing homes who don't have constant family visits are utterly miserable.

bryanlarsen 3y ago

Just as long as you recognize that if the worker/retiree ratio gets significantly out of whack, the demand for services needed by retirees is going to massively outstrip supply supply so inflation is going to kill any retirement savings you're planning on. If you're directly or indirectly working on that problem somehow, you're probably doing far more good for future humans than you would just by having kids.

dougmwne 3y ago
Rich countries will just keep importing labor. The large aged population will throw out any government that threatens their quality of life in retirement. Middle income and poor countries with low birth rates may suffer greatly from having their working aged populations poached.
- bryanlarsen 3y ago
  This is an article about Korea, a country which is not doing so, and is quite likely incapable of doing so in the quantities needed to offset a 0.7 TFR.
- pixl97 3y ago
  >Rich countries will just keep importing labor. This only works so long.... We are running into the issue where almost no rich countries are producing excess population. Couple that with the countries we think of as excess population producers have massively reduced their own birth rates, then one day those rich countries will start having to pay very large amounts for imports, hence threatening the quality of life by increase costs.

dougmwne 3y ago

I really don’t see why you should have a moral obligation to continue the unsustainable overpopulation of the planet. Every single scrap of science tells us that we have overshot the planet’s carrying capacity along every dimension we care to measure. And yeah, one more person may contribute a tiny bit to a GDP and SP500 number, but those numbers will be irrelevant when the soil no longer yields food.

ars 3y ago

What's your plan when you get old enough to need daily care? I can tell you right now that elderly in nursing homes who don't have constant family visits are utterly miserable.