The coming Population Collapse

Yeah generally you're right I believe. The current population and much larger would be sustainable if resources were shared out evenly.
Of course we also don't want expotioainal growth of population.
The larger issues is the period of transition during a population collapse. This will be a huge challenge for societies to contend with.

 

It's not the result of a reduced population which worries me, it's the process. As the population reduces over a few generations it means you end up with a skewed demographic - loads of pensioners who are a liability for society and comparatively fewer working people to prop it up.

 

Exactly this, could well be the biggest challenge we face in the next 100 years.
It doesn't seem to get much air time. In fact I still get the feeling then many people believe we are over populated and think that trend will continue

 

Not sure AI pays taxes though - perhaps the companies who own it. I think, if AI pans out as expected, we’ll see a major change in how our economies and society work. You can’t get rich from selling to people who have no money to buy anything. Either you give them money (from where?), they make it a different way, or money stops being the way we measure power and instead it’s power in a different way (control/no longer keeping those people around?)

 

Parenthood is our basic biological imperative - it’s how we all got here and how our species had survived and thrived. It shows how distorted our society is that for many that has been undermined.

If we’re going to have a world with less people, who misses out? What choice to they have? Is it a free choice? Who still has kids? Who decides?

 

The cynic in me, and many opponents of the assisted dying legislation, is that that’s part of the motivation for those introducing it. We could be a society with lots of old and infirm to keep into their dotage. Or we could be the type of society/elites that decide not to do that. The terminally ill for now, but in the future perhaps just dystopia?

 

Regarding nurses, none of my daughters cohort(30 students) have had the opportunity to upscale their training to become fully trained yet and when the places become available, there will be a scramble for the limited places available. Doesn’t make sense.

 

All evidence shows that the richer a society becomes the fewer children they have.

 

The argument is that, in a high infant mortality, lower education society, you needed more children that some would survive and succeed in adulthood to look after you/your family status as you aged. In a higher income/status society it makes most sense to concentrate your effort/wealth on again seeking to propel your most successful/only to a higher status level still. Obviously once you become as comparatively rich as Elon Musk you just have hundreds of kids again, all of which will still be fabulously advantaged and wealthy.

 

My wife and I are pretty sure we're not going to have kids - though she's only just turned 30 so a few years left to decide for sure yet.

95% of it sounds like a never-ending nightmare - the pregnancy itself, the constant sleepless/low sleep nights, the constant crying, cleaning up vomit and shìt several times a day, not being able to do anything with friends, the cost - all for the odd moment of happiness. It seems like a pretty terrible trade-off.

Most of my friends have had kids now (6 months to 11 years old, mostly 3-4) and with a couple of exceptions they all look miserable and knackered. Trying to organise anything with them is nigh-on impossible. Overall, it looks utterly horrendous.

We're in the incredibly lucky position to have been born and live in this country - which for me, means enjoying life and helping others to enjoy life too. Having kids seems like the antithesis of that.

 

Jay is right that all the stats show that as societies become better off they have less children.

 

Which is of course 100% your right and is not wrong in anyway. The wider implications of this happening are potentially devastating and will need a lot of work for societies to deal with

 

It's the best and worst thing I've ever done, quite often it's been both within the same day. The first 18 months were by far the hardest and I'd say anyone who says they like the newborn stage needs sectioning. But having said that humans are remarkably good at adjusting - we quickly adapt to a new status quo and you find yourself functioning and weathering the shitstorm better than you expecting. From 3 onwards I've found it great.

What you say about organising things is true to a degree - I see my childless friends a lot less than the ones who also have kids just because it's now much easier to arrange something that accommodates our children as well than it is to arrange something without kids and everyone having to sort childcare etc. Children are restrictive, but if you're in the age bracket where most of your friends have kids then I reckon having them end up being a net positive for your social life as daft as it sounds.

All that said, it's definitely not a decision to be taken lightly as it's a hell of a responsibility to take on.

 

My kids are demanding, sometimes unreasonable, and annoy me on a regular basis.

They’re also my greatest achievement and best thing I’ve ever done.

I won’t look back on life and wish I’d worked more or had more things. I’ll look at them and my grandkids and take pleasure in what I leave behind.

The newborn stage doesn’t last forever, and to be honest you’ll remember if fondly.

 

People have been slagging off families with a large number of children for years though. Mostly the same people who are now advocating for women to get back to staying home and birthing children.

 

USA centric but still relevant and (imho) very interesting

 

Full credit to you for raising your kids and taking pride in them. I've got the utmost respect for parents who persevere through it all and raise their children to be tolerant, respectful individuals. I'm just not sure I'm willing to put in the colossal amount of effort it takes.

 

If I could have foreseen the current state of the world 30-odd years ago, I might have opted not to have children. Maybe people are starting to believe the reality of the totally fubar (look it up) world we now live in. Reminds me of Bob Dylan's "Masters of War" - "A fear to bring children into this world".

Bob Dylan - Masters of War (Official Audio)

 

Which one? Soylent Green? or maybe Logan's Run?

 

In 2024, it was the 12th most popular A Level subject and over 36,000 sat the exam…numbers are down though on 2023 which had over 38,000.

So a rough calculation of 36000x20 =720,000, so 1.3% of the adult population of the UK.

Not enough! Maybe Population Issues should be part of the Primary School curriculum!