Overpopulation is a Myth

Is capitalism really plundering all of our natural resources — with overpopulation as the driving force? Not quite...
Learn why on this special Common Sense Soapbox #short.

[ryanhubbard]

I worry more about what increasing population density seems to do to our valuing of individual human life more than I worry about over-population exhausting resources.

[LamborghiniDiabloSVPursuit]

The two paradoxes that will always confuse me:

1. We are reaching the point of overpopulation that we will no longer have enough food to support everyone.

2. Billions of pounds of food are wasted yearly.

[Hermenie]

Even statistically speaking eventually population will hit a plateau

[antoniotrivelloni]

Summarized: Mathus was a quack who assumed that we’d only ever have the resources we discovered in his time and that we’d never figure out ways to make resource distribution, disposal, and recycling more efficient.

[cousinbryan]

Overpopulation is a concern almost exclusively of people who never leave large cities. Drive across Iowa some time and you'll understand how stupid it is to worry about.

[johnshaw]

They've been trying to reduce the number of farms/ranches, which leads to less fresh food. Since we can't keep and supply enough fresh healthy food for a balance diet to everyone on the planet now, I consider that a resource issue.

Stacking people up in cities is also a major issue, this is what drives most of our crime. Although it increases the source of available labor for industries in a smaller area, it also creates a large population of people that seem to think the resources and food they have available is a given. That's why we have so many people with a socialist mind set, that leads to them voting for people like Biden.

Land is also a resource which doesn't increase.

The issue with population growth goes far beyond whether we have resources to supply fuel and materials for the worlds ever increasing demand for stuff.

[Gulgathydra]

For example, if you're running low on farmland, you could always _eat ze boogs._

*Seamus* reveals his secret identity: *Claus Schwab*

[mrbigglezworth]

Fun fact, when it was first discovered, gasoline was considered a waste product with no discernible use and was often just thrown away.

How we use resources is directly related to what we can do with them.

[bobowon]

There is absolutely a limit to how many humans can pragmatically exist. We dont seem to be at that point, and to some degree it will regulate itself. A big issue we have right now is population density, insane amounts of people in very tiny parts of any given country while huge amounts of land goes basically untouched

[DaxSudo]

True, however, just because the resource is renewable or being discovered and expanded upon does not mean that we can’t run out of it. For example, it was estimated the carrying capacity of earth was only about 3 billion humans, but with the rise of genetic modification we were able to feed a lot more people it’s not just discovering new resources inventing new technologies.

[link]

I think people are forgetting a huge part in all of this, its not about living area that isn't a issue but farmland, its currently 38-40% of the gobal land, yes there can be argud that all of that isn't used to its full potential and we can work on bettering food waste but that doesn't change the fact we already have made the available space into farmland, more land won't just pop into existence

[samaritan_sys]

My sole issue worth rising population is the scarcity of isolation. Being stacked upon each other like sardines literally drives humans crazy, so the rising tide of thickly inhabited lands presents an undesirable outcome.

[willcresson]

The entire human population could fit in the state of Texas and it would have *half* the population density of Manhattan. People grossly over-estimate humanity and its impact on the world.

[RichardHauser]

Our present farming methods are destroying topsoil at ludicrous speed, so without changes even our present population is unsustainable.

[legendarytoby]

We have so much land that isn't being used up. It's just that our population is so concentrated in the big cities

[foridaflame-vpvi]

This is a massive oversimplification, when you take into account global warming, the massive amount of waste we produce, and the price of the resources we do have. overpopulation is a massive issue, because if we need more food, the farms producing that food will also have to expand, as an example

[ryanleonard]

We are using up a lot of natural resources and saying we can always find is a very childish response. Most of these resources can be replenished but we use them at a way higher rate. It’s less about overpopulation and more about difficulty with logistics and spreading resources properly.

[mullerpotgieter]

Crazy idea: People have children thry can actually care for and we value the quality of living people have. Not sheer numbers.

[mypowerlevelisover]

But the volume of earth is finite so until and unless we move to outer space our resources are actually pretty finite

[Zenn_Chan]

As many people are pointing out, yes maybe we can't literally end the world with overpopulation, but the situation many find themselves in due to Population Density is definitely a problem. There's an oft spoken meme that "Every person in the world could live in Texas" What's not followed up with is "They would be living in a tiny pod and miserable"