Is the Population ACTUALLY Booming?

Our demographics are shifting. Across the world, the total fertility rate is dropping as people have less children, even as our total population is expanding. Combine that with an aging population that could put a strain on social systems, and we may have a big problem on our hands. Far Out host Sinéad Bovell explains.

[ferdievanschalkwyk]

You can't have unlimited wealth exploitation, unless you have unlimited labour exploitation. Maybe if a working class single income was enough to support a family, more people would have kids. People don't have time to have kids.

[toddgreener]

The only reasons economists are losing their mind is because they can only imagine an economic model that requires infinite growth from new sources of value, I.e. a ponzy scheme

[yolo_burrito]

Reminder the population went from 4 billion in the mid 70’s to 8 billion in the mid 10’s. Doubling every 40 years is not sustainable and I’d argue 8 billion is not sustainable.

[crayonburry]

The billionaires like Elon musk who championed that robots could do the work of humans 10 fold, but are so afraid of losing the human labor that keeps them wealthy.

They’re more afraid of being at equilibrium with commoners than helping humanity.

[dwayneendress]

Population needs to drop. I see no problem.

[jackieking]

Seems like a "natural" correction to me. Population drops, environment recovers, future rosy. Best we can hope for.

[christopherthedude]

It is a natural correction due to not needing as much manual labor.

If anything, the current population shouldn’t be possible to keep fed, but due to fertilizers and other evolutions from WW1 and WW2, we have had the capability to massively increase the number of people.

[pooryorick]

There are many reasons for decreased birth rates. The culture has shifted to having fewer kids later in life to focus on careers. I am sure there are more pressing problems with nutrition and infant mortality in other parts of the world. Famine is always a prospect around the world. Those who don't have enough to eat are not going to have healthy children. The reasons for the decreased fertility are too complex for one country to solve.
Managing the birthrate needs to be a global endeavour. We are at a point in history where our continued survival may depend on our ability to face global threats with globally shared solutions. But I'm not entirely sure we're civilized enough to do that. 🙏🏻☮️

[MirorRflction]

People only have kids they can't afford to feed if they already live in poverty, more helping hands and the hope that at least some of the kids will make it. Where poverty has decreased, so has the birth rate of kids that parents can't afford to feed, because in developed countries potential parents can barely afford rent and work too many hours to care for kids at home, even under dual incomes. We need to pay CEOs and executives less and pay workers more so they can afford to have kids.

[WhichDoctor]

when birth rates were still rising economists were freaking out about the economy collapsing due to the population growing too big to be supported. Now that birth rates are falling economists are freaking out about the economy collapsing due to not enough people. Maybe the common denominator between these two predicted crisis isnt population, but instead economists

[Nicho_Ldn]

You should do both. if you’re population grows more naturally, you’re not then encouraging brain drain and the mass movement of people, often via dangerous routes.

Rather than cash payments, properly subsidised childcare would be the single biggest needle mover here in the UK at least. Improved parental leave particularly in the case of fathers, would also help.

[shakenbacon-vmeu]

You forget immigration. Japan still has a healthy immigration rate, as well as the US. As long as the country stays attractive to immigration, they’ll be Gucci. The high fertility rate developing countries could be losing out on their highest tax payers as they’ll emigrate to wealthier countries (like my family from the Philippines, very high birth rate, to the US, with a birth rate well below replacement rate).

[gln]

Make the world a safer happier place and we might start having children, or more children

[kurtrohlfing]

Maybe we could raise taxes on the wealthy to ninety percent and start paying our workforce what they're actually worth. The more money.
In your pocket, The more you see a chance to have more kids. Until then the billionaires may actually have to get off their fake high horse and do some work.

[Achill]

The video ends on a strange note: why should we give up on stabilizing fertility rates at replacement levels?

[tarjei]

The way to bribe women into having more children is simple : give them more time with the child.

[josephsalomone]

Yeah, billionaires will never let that happen.

[MandosaWright]

So weird that a pro-environmental channel is trying to protect the economy. Screw, what tech billionaires and economists think, we've already stressed ecosystems enough.

[vesawuoristo]

We have an ecological crisis now because of too many people

[nathanandsugar]

Birth rate decreases as women get better education and more rights. Developed countries with hostile economies to mothers keep it artificially low. Birth control facilities family planning. We can easily feed and supply ten billion sustainably with the right policies.