General Discussion

haele

(14,525 posts)

70. Civilization can maintain. The Plague proved that.

Fri May 30, 2025, 04:59 PM

May 2025

The Human Species is very adaptable.
The question really is, can the people who are comfortable now remain comfortable as things start to break down, or will we destroy ourselves with Social Media induced fear-mongering?

Modern Technocrats are selfish, short-sighted idiots.
Modern scientists and engineers are not and could help maintain civilization through population and resource availability ups and downs, but they're not the ones " driving the rocket ship " (as it were) and pushing mental stress and anxiety trying to manipulate things for their own benefit.
And I'm sure the Technocrats are so busy building their own reality they don't understand what's going on and what is the real optimal way forward for everyone.

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What will happen if(when?) the birthrate drops dramatically? [View all] LAS14 May 2025 OP

Isn't that why Trump and co. want to pay women to have babies? ananda May 2025 #1

Yes, but if you read the interview, you see that it's a real problem. nt LAS14 May 2025 #5

I do see that. ananda May 2025 #15

No, it isn't. Why are you falling for right-wing bullshit? valleyrogue May 2025 #24

Douthat is NYT's token republican right winger. defacto7 May 2025 #79

I can't get into the article. Why is it a problem? yardwork May 2025 #93

Pay white women to have babies. White women. mucholderthandirt May 2025 #74

Well, I'd appreciate it if they'd pay me for giving birth to twins Crunchy Frog May 2025 #78

That's an interesting take. ananda May 2025 #105

Only white women. They want to keep whites as the majority. kerry-is-my-prez May 2025 #100

Exactly! ananda May 2025 #104

The Earth might breathe a sigh of relief? flvegan May 2025 #2

Right. The earth is way too overpopulated now. raccoon May 2025 #6

The earth might, but if you read the interview, you'll get the idea that humanity might not. nt LAS14 May 2025 #7

i'm cool with that...if the other species get to survive. ret5hd May 2025 #26

We're really going to go full Handmaids Tale on DU behind forced-birther Douthat's column? Prairie Gates May 2025 #3

People can't afford to have children pcdb May 2025 #17

Why is that scary? LearnedHand May 2025 #4

Too little population to support civilization. Read the article. nt LAS14 May 2025 #8

So, when did human civilization first begin, Crunchy Frog May 2025 #29

Long time ago and when there wasn't a policy system of younger people supporting older people uponit7771 May 2025 #31

The issue is our economy is built around growth EdmondDantes_ May 2025 #33

Yes, it's time to begin seriously thinking about new economic models. Crunchy Frog May 2025 #36

This is incompatible with liberalism. Self Esteem May 2025 #41

Again, that's not a sustainable model EdmondDantes_ May 2025 #55

Nope. Self Esteem May 2025 #56

The Earth is not "just fine". NickB79 May 2025 #71

Sure it is. Self Esteem May 2025 #73

I'll probably get thrown out of here for this, but, Conjuay May 2025 #89

If you want to support the social safety yet - yes that's the only answer. Self Esteem May 2025 #99

So making ever greater quantities of junk Crunchy Frog May 2025 #75

You're making an argument that isn't being made. Self Esteem May 2025 #101

You accuse me of throwing out meaningless strawmen, then throw in meaningless stories about US cities. Crunchy Frog Jun 2025 #107

Incorrect Self Esteem Jun 2025 #114

TLDR, putting you on ignore now. Crunchy Frog Jun 2025 #115

lmao...slink away. Self Esteem Jun 2025 #116

No, it is not. RandomNumbers May 2025 #88

Overpopulation is not the issue. Self Esteem May 2025 #103

Capitalism also demands endless growth Retrograde May 2025 #53

Civilization can maintain. The Plague proved that. haele May 2025 #70

More like too much population that can't be supported on the limited resources this planet has. mwmisses4289 May 2025 #58

The "survival of the planet"? The Earth is not "alive" but has living things on it that can die. elocs May 2025 #83

Normally when people say "survival of the planet" RandomNumbers May 2025 #96

I'll take the truth & honesty over rhetorical shorthand any day. elocs May 2025 #97

You're calling someone "dishonest" RandomNumbers May 2025 #98

I was asking why you said the falling birthrate was scary, not what the article said LearnedHand May 2025 #10

Not enough young working folks to support an aging population.... Happy Hoosier May 2025 #46

Yes to your last sentence RandomNumbers May 2025 #86

Ross Douthat?? A right wing hack. madinmaryland May 2025 #9

I don't know RJ-MacReady May 2025 #11

Could you explain a little more? nt LAS14 May 2025 #12

Not really RJ-MacReady May 2025 #39

Douthat is not a scientist, anthropologist, statistician, or sociologist. There is no reason to take what he says WhiskeyGrinder May 2025 #13

He was interviewing a person who had studied this issue extensively. nt LAS14 May 2025 #14

Ha, that's on me, for drinking on a Thursday night. What do you find scary about it all? WhiskeyGrinder May 2025 #16

Here's a fairly recent study from The Lancet TheProle May 2025 #18

doesnt the workforce make things for ppl? wont fewer ppl need fewer products? mopinko May 2025 #21

need vs want Retrograde May 2025 #57

since 60% of americans mopinko May 2025 #59

LOL. AI is going to make all of us obsolete anyway. The last thing we need is more people to Scrivener7 May 2025 #37

Handmaids. milestogo May 2025 #19

The article says the birth rate hasn't declined as much with muslims questionseverything May 2025 #20

Disney parks and eating out will be a helluva lot more enjoyable. BannonsLiver May 2025 #22

LOL!!!!! valleyrogue May 2025 #23

Alice Evans appears to be a lunatic (not to mention an idiot as well) Wiz Imp May 2025 #25

No, there are some who agree with her. Don't ask me who, because I'm not going to go seek Scrivener7 May 2025 #38

Governments around the world are trying to find ways to replace their populations. nt LAS14 May 2025 #48

That sounds extremely dangerous. MorbidButterflyTat May 2025 #67

Well, we're not. We're imprisoning and deporting immigrants. yardwork May 2025 #94

If you keep going backwards jumping 1000 years, the world was always surviving with fewer people and if the RoeVWade May 2025 #27

I think Elon talks about it quite a bit Crunchy Frog May 2025 #28

Not sure when we reached 1 billion, but we reached 4 billion around 1980, and in just the following Cloudhopper May 2025 #30

The world population reached one billion in the early years of the 1800s. Crunchy Frog May 2025 #35

obviously there was no innovation and no economic growth DBoon May 2025 #54

Automation will fill in where humans can't uponit7771 May 2025 #32

Meh. When I was born the population of the USA was about 180 million. Today it's twice that. Scrivener7 May 2025 #34

The thing of it is, more women are not going for men at all. valleyrogue May 2025 #61

Yes. Because for the first time in history, they don't have to. That's a good thing. Scrivener7 May 2025 #62

I think pro-natalism is the wrong path. Oneironaut May 2025 #40

Kudos for taking the question seriously and proposing a path forward. nt LAS14 May 2025 #49

Going with, appreciate MORE who is here and not act like just churning out workers? Brainfodder May 2025 #42

I only scanned the article, but... LudwigPastorius May 2025 #43

I see that a lot of people assume that bringing attention to a problem is the same thing... LAS14 May 2025 #44

what problem though? RJ-MacReady May 2025 #45

Did you read the article? nt LAS14 May 2025 #47

Yes I did RJ-MacReady May 2025 #52

This is DU where there is no requirement to actually read an article to respond to it elocs May 2025 #84

Endless population growth is a problem ITAL May 2025 #50

Thanks for this. For acknowledging a problem and not leaping onto the... LAS14 May 2025 #64

Elbow room lame54 May 2025 #51

A much saner view of the topic which correctly points out that it is nothing remotely to fear. Wiz Imp May 2025 #60

Interesting points. Thanks. nt LAS14 May 2025 #65

+1 leftstreet May 2025 #66

Make the old people take care of the babies, Crunchy Frog May 2025 #80

Human population decline is a very good thing for the biosphere Mysterian May 2025 #90

So women are supposed to get pregnant chowmama May 2025 #63

The interview did not propose a solution. It simply described... LAS14 Jun 2025 #113

Manufacturing fear MorbidButterflyTat May 2025 #68

Climate change is expected to kill 10's, maybe 100's of millions Kaleva May 2025 #69

Food insecurity (starvation) and declining health due to Mango Menace policies will do far worse damage dickthegrouch May 2025 #72

Could be, could be. nt LAS14 Jun 2025 #112

We allow in more immigrants, that's what we do. viva la May 2025 #76

Supposedly it already has. Littlered May 2025 #77

Evolution has no direction. Maybe the survivors will shrink to Hobbit size and learn how to live and let live. Ping Tung May 2025 #81

We should be so lucky Raine May 2025 #82

Same as it ever was ... the rich get richer, the poor suffer RandomNumbers May 2025 #85

Thanks for the thoughtful and insightful response!! nt LAS14 Jun 2025 #111

There Are Many Threats to Humanity. A Low Birth Rate Isn't One of Them. RandomNumbers May 2025 #87

Thanks for a response that addresses the question, not the personalties. nt LAS14 Jun 2025 #110

Such nonsense. 8 billion people in the world. travelingthrulife May 2025 #91

Islam eventually takes over the world madville May 2025 #92

Islam is the fastest growing religion in the world. yardwork May 2025 #95

I liked the article, but I don't think it has solutions. gulliver May 2025 #102

It absolutely doesn't have solutions. That's why I found it scary. LAS14 Jun 2025 #109

More right-wing bullshit. Aristus May 2025 #106

Aha! An answer that addresses the question, not the people articulating it. Thanks. LAS14 Jun 2025 #108