The question is moot, because the billionaire class is controlling the course of America. Very large parasites. The poor are feeling this acutely already, as the effects of being sucked dry bleed upward through society. The middle class is mostly oblivious, and many from there up are completely delusional.
Interesting take on demographics, and a good capture of capitalism's view of people as mere units of utility.
One idea, and i cant remember if i found this on the right or left side of the political spectrum, is that humans propably need a scafolding of strong communal culture and parental/communal involvement in mate selection in order to be able to procreate above replacement level.
This was a great post and a challenge to the dogmatism that surrounds the issue. Now the question for me is not “do we live on?” but “how”- as our legacy, will, and configurations have other ways to manifest themselves. Our future might reduce us to the number of humans “required”…
I find this to be an incredible turn of events after the last 40 years of shaming people for getting pregnant in such irresponsible ways, such as before you've made your first 2 million dollars so you can at least afford a house and 4 years at Harvard.
You have correctly observed a very serious dynamic, and provided a great explanation of some of the key drivers behind this trend, especially in the West. I have been back & forth on this one throughout my life. Interestingly, a new paradigm emerged as I got more immersed in thinking about our forthcoming Age of Abundance & PLE> So, let me pose this scenario, in all of its current absurdity: If Ray Kurzweil is correct, we will achieve the "Longevity Escape Velocity" over the next 7-10 years. Following his thinking (and I see others are jumping on this ship more vocally, like Peter Diamandis, & co) improvements in bio-chemistry and medicine could biologically prolong human life in perpetuity (barring accidents and conflicts) within the next few decades, maybe even less. Furthermore, such improvements will eventually help us revert the process of aging, "decoupling" human's Chronological Age with their Metabolic Age. In other words, technology + medicine would result in everyone existing at their Metabolic Prime (e.g. 32 years old), regardless of how physically old they are.... Now, imagine the following scenario: you, at the chronological age of 200, organizing a Family Gathering to mark your 200th Birthday, but looking and feeling like you are 32, surrounded by your Children, who also look like they are 32 years old (but are actually in their 180's ;-), then Grandchildren, Great-Grandchildren, etc.... all the way to the youngest.... a backyard filled with people who are all each other's descendants, but all at the same biological age - more like a Class Reunion than a Family Reunion, eh? Bizarre!
What would this scenario mean to our society? What would this do to our demographics? What effect would this have on our economies, especially in the PLE context? Would we be inclined to have more, or less, children if this was a reality?
I know this sounds crazy and far-fetched; science fiction for sure. However, until just a few years ago, having a Star Trek Communicator in the palm of my hand was also "far-fetched science-fiction", yet - look where we are today with ChatGPTs.
I mean people literally say this all the time, been hearing it among friends since the 90s: "I'm not going to bring a child into a world this screwed up"
I'm opposed to a checkmate move. Nature's forces manifest in source depletion, migration, disease, conflict and species dishumor. Mostly, we are already a declining species. Save for considerable dense populations where there is growth, children are not born to a replication level rate. The myth that any population will continue beyond all ends persists, however they all are subject to second order differential growth - there is always a cap and a decline.
This is a superb article, thank you David!
Very eloquent. We need more of these voices. Thank you.
We have a lot of folks equating low-natalism with degrowth. But those are different things, economy formulas must change.
Morals and biology
The question is moot, because the billionaire class is controlling the course of America. Very large parasites. The poor are feeling this acutely already, as the effects of being sucked dry bleed upward through society. The middle class is mostly oblivious, and many from there up are completely delusional.
The Buddha's main teaching is that all things are impermanent. Sabbe sankhara annica.
The human race is simply another conditioned phenomenon and there is no need to be anxious about its continuance.
Interesting take on demographics, and a good capture of capitalism's view of people as mere units of utility.
One idea, and i cant remember if i found this on the right or left side of the political spectrum, is that humans propably need a scafolding of strong communal culture and parental/communal involvement in mate selection in order to be able to procreate above replacement level.
This was a great post and a challenge to the dogmatism that surrounds the issue. Now the question for me is not “do we live on?” but “how”- as our legacy, will, and configurations have other ways to manifest themselves. Our future might reduce us to the number of humans “required”…
Bravo! Bravo!
I find this to be an incredible turn of events after the last 40 years of shaming people for getting pregnant in such irresponsible ways, such as before you've made your first 2 million dollars so you can at least afford a house and 4 years at Harvard.
You have correctly observed a very serious dynamic, and provided a great explanation of some of the key drivers behind this trend, especially in the West. I have been back & forth on this one throughout my life. Interestingly, a new paradigm emerged as I got more immersed in thinking about our forthcoming Age of Abundance & PLE> So, let me pose this scenario, in all of its current absurdity: If Ray Kurzweil is correct, we will achieve the "Longevity Escape Velocity" over the next 7-10 years. Following his thinking (and I see others are jumping on this ship more vocally, like Peter Diamandis, & co) improvements in bio-chemistry and medicine could biologically prolong human life in perpetuity (barring accidents and conflicts) within the next few decades, maybe even less. Furthermore, such improvements will eventually help us revert the process of aging, "decoupling" human's Chronological Age with their Metabolic Age. In other words, technology + medicine would result in everyone existing at their Metabolic Prime (e.g. 32 years old), regardless of how physically old they are.... Now, imagine the following scenario: you, at the chronological age of 200, organizing a Family Gathering to mark your 200th Birthday, but looking and feeling like you are 32, surrounded by your Children, who also look like they are 32 years old (but are actually in their 180's ;-), then Grandchildren, Great-Grandchildren, etc.... all the way to the youngest.... a backyard filled with people who are all each other's descendants, but all at the same biological age - more like a Class Reunion than a Family Reunion, eh? Bizarre!
What would this scenario mean to our society? What would this do to our demographics? What effect would this have on our economies, especially in the PLE context? Would we be inclined to have more, or less, children if this was a reality?
I know this sounds crazy and far-fetched; science fiction for sure. However, until just a few years ago, having a Star Trek Communicator in the palm of my hand was also "far-fetched science-fiction", yet - look where we are today with ChatGPTs.
That's definitely the long term goal.
I mean people literally say this all the time, been hearing it among friends since the 90s: "I'm not going to bring a child into a world this screwed up"
Actually, you can’t!
Eh, whatever.... Meanwhile (back at the ranch), I read Meta offered a top
AI engineering candidate 30,000 GPUs to come work for them. What's it to be? Carbon and/or silicone based offspring. Seems obvious.
I'm opposed to a checkmate move. Nature's forces manifest in source depletion, migration, disease, conflict and species dishumor. Mostly, we are already a declining species. Save for considerable dense populations where there is growth, children are not born to a replication level rate. The myth that any population will continue beyond all ends persists, however they all are subject to second order differential growth - there is always a cap and a decline.
Neither of my kids has any desire to raise children, and I don't blame them.
Welp. There goes my bloodline, I guess. 🤷♂️
Probably your best post to date, bravo.