Pronatalism
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I'm not usually a big video watcher but decided to see what this was about when the link came in via a newsletter I get.
Scared the hell out of me...
Link to videoWhy Musk and Other Tech Execs Want as Many Babies as Possible | WSJ
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Fifty years ago, the population bomb was the big concern. Now, birthrates are declining nearly everywhere around the world. The Malthusian disaster has come close in some countries but is presently receding from view. China abandoned its "one-child" policy some years ago.
Long-term projections based solely on extrapolation of present trends are seldom accurate. We are better served by devising solutions for future needs than trying to artificially alter the trajectory of world population. This notion becomes particularly worrisome when mixed with eugenic ideas like trying to select only the best embryos to survive.
An economic structure that can survive only with increased consumption is ultimately doomed to fail on a planet with limited resources, no matter how ingeniously we use them. Drill, baby, drill is not the solution for the next 100 years and not even for the present day. A population that can be comfortably sustained in the world should be the desired target and will, most likely, be achieved if we don't do something catastrophic in the meantime.
Big Al
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Humans eventually gravitate to what works. We will too. I share the concern about a system that relies on ever increasing consumption, but we already have social systems that balance the material imbalances out a bit. There will be more as we progress, but there are a whole lot of humans still living in abject poverty and desolation.
