General Discussion

July 11 is World Population Day, a United Nations observance day which seeks to raise awareness of population issues. There are many misconceptions about demographic trends and their implications. Even though our global population soared past the 8 billion mark last November and is projected to keep growing to over 10 billion in the 2080s, population coverage in the media is currently dominated by concern about a supposed “baby bust.”

Space colonization-obsessed tech billionaire Elon Musk went as far as making the bizarre claim that low birth rates are “a much bigger risk to civilization than global warming.”

1) Low birth rates are a result of women’s empowerment.
2) Small families are good for people and society.
3) Our planet needs zero population growth.
4) Babies are dependents too.
5) Growth-dependent economies have no place in the future.

Governments worry about a growing proportion of non-working dependents as a result of population aging, but trying to counter this with more babies makes little sense, as they are also non-working dependents, arguably a lot more so than older people. It takes many years for a baby to turn into a tax-paying worker, and while they don’t require pensions, young dependents necessitate investment in other areas, such as education.

Furthermore, retirees often make significant contributions to society in the form of voluntary work and childcare. Greater investment in preventive healthcare to keep older people able-bodied for as long as possible is a more beneficial solution, as are workplace inclusion efforts to attract and enable people who are currently excluded from many workplaces. This includes young migrants, who make much better potential workers and tax payers in the short term than infants.