Then the shrinking is exponential as well. That's the point. Population grows or shrinks according to an exponential curve. If the exponent is one, then things

Then the shrinking is exponential as well. That's the point. Population grows or shrinks according to an exponential curve. If the exponent is one, then things are stable. If it's less than one, then things will experience exponential decline, which is different than linear decline since it never reaches 0. If it's more than one, then things experience exponential growth. Most problems in life come down to misunderstanding exponents.