Birth rates have dropped 20% since 2007. I don't think we ever came back from the '08 crash. It's just been smoke and mirrors.

  • Collatz_problem [comrade/them]
    ·
    3 months ago

    it would balance itself out over a few centuries

    There is a possibility that it would balance itself by returning to traditionalist agrarian society, which wouldn't be good.

    • hotcouchguy [he/him]
      ·
      3 months ago

      IDK I could imagine some kind of solarpunk communism 300 years from now with world population that gradually stabilized at 500 million or something. Or a high-tech spacefaring star-trek communism also with 500 million. Or either of those with 20 billion population. I just think population is a relatively small factor compared to all of the rest of economic and social organization.

      • Collatz_problem [comrade/them]
        ·
        edit-2
        3 months ago

        It is a very important factor. After all, all economic value come from labour, not to mention economy of scale and division of labour, which are more efficient with higher population. I really doubt you can get space-faring civilization with 500 million people, satellites and unmanned exploration would be its limit at best.

        Also, I fear a scenario, where the world collapses back into agrarian traditionalism, because it is the only known way to sustain population and all the other societies just decline into irrelevance, and then we get another cycle of class society, until we finally manage to solve this problem.