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Are they worried about being killed by famine (after having eaten their own cats and dogs), war or pandemic soon? If not, then they are not "struggling to live"

Are they worried about being killed by famine (after having eaten their own cats and dogs), war or pandemic soon? If not, then they are not "struggling to live", which in turn means there is no need to reproduce that much. From the biological perspective, excessive population growth can be dangerous to the species [1]. [1] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Behavioral_sink http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Behavioral_sink

pvaldes 11y ago
Probably not but I can't see why "to be killed by famine" is a relevant point here (A lot of alive germans had experienced the fear to be killed by famine in their past, that's for sure, as many other people that was children in the wars and postwars). Today 7 millions of germans live with minijobs and for most of them is its only source of income. I don't really see those people reproducting like bunnies, but well... I can be wrong. Is a different kind of poverty, not the classic one. > Excessive population growth can be dangerous to the species I guess that you don't encourage the reproduction of this people?. Again, this is not the point here. We are trying to understant why germans have a low natality, not if this is convenient or not for the rest of the planet.
- jarek-foksa 11y ago
  Those who remember famine and war are usually past their reproductive age. The young people take it for granted that they will live until their eighties, even on their low paying jobs. If poverty was causing reduced birth rate, we should have gone extinct long time ago. I suspect though that increased competition for non-essential resources and territory (like a new car or a house) might somehow turn off our reproductive instincts because in the past this was usually a prelude to self-destructive competition for essential goods. I'm not encouraging or discouraging anything, I just don't see the problem. Everything seems to work according to the nature. The only thing that needs adjusting is the social security system which is based on the flawed assumption of infinite population growth.
- pvaldes 11y ago
  s/understant/understand/

pvaldes 11y ago

Probably not but I can't see why "to be killed by famine" is a relevant point here (A lot of alive germans had experienced the fear to be killed by famine in their past, that's for sure, as many other people that was children in the wars and postwars). Today 7 millions of germans live with minijobs and for most of them is its only source of income. I don't really see those people reproducting like bunnies, but well... I can be wrong. Is a different kind of poverty, not the classic one. > Excessive population growth can be dangerous to the species I guess that you don't encourage the reproduction of this people?. Again, this is not the point here. We are trying to understant why germans have a low natality, not if this is convenient or not for the rest of the planet.

jarek-foksa 11y ago
Those who remember famine and war are usually past their reproductive age. The young people take it for granted that they will live until their eighties, even on their low paying jobs. If poverty was causing reduced birth rate, we should have gone extinct long time ago. I suspect though that increased competition for non-essential resources and territory (like a new car or a house) might somehow turn off our reproductive instincts because in the past this was usually a prelude to self-destructive competition for essential goods. I'm not encouraging or discouraging anything, I just don't see the problem. Everything seems to work according to the nature. The only thing that needs adjusting is the social security system which is based on the flawed assumption of infinite population growth.
pvaldes 11y ago
s/understant/understand/