Quote:
Originally Posted by elhigh
I've been seeing other articles that talk about population declines in other countries too, not just US. Generally it's the middle class and above that are dying out.
A small nucleus of upper-middle class shall inherit all the money, and the fiscally meek shall inherit the rest of the earth.
|
It's an interesting, uncontrolled, experiment in eugenics; poor, uneducated and religious people outbreeding (physically at least) the educated middle class.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Old Tele man
...essentially, back to fifedoms: a few rich/powerful and many peasants.
|
Isn't that the natural consequence of laissez faire capitalism? (That has been tried, often with at least some degree of success, in many past civilisations.)
The biggest problem at the moment is not that the global population is growing but that wealth is. While that is not inherently a bad thing, for the poor at least, the consequences of that and the speed with which it can occur will outstrip any of the effects of population growth.
The world will almost certainly have an extra 2-3 billion people in it by the middle of the century. That will certainly have some impact but, because they will mostly be poor, it's not necessarily catastrophic. 3 billion more in the middle class will be, if they do it the same way as we do now.
I find it incredible that anyone who can read and write, even without a high school level of scientific knowledge, can still think that AGW is not occurring. Rather than argue whether or not there is a problem, it is far more productive to discuss how it can be solved.
Is it all over but for the sweating (and collapse of civilisation)? I don't think so but it is going to be challenging, not technically, that's pretty straightforward, but politically and socially.
At the moment, it's not easy. It is very difficult for an individual (and family) to try to do what is required alone. Try to build a Tiny House (or even a slightly smaller one) amidst a sea of McMansions and see how far you get. Try to grow your own food in your front yard and see how quickly the home owner's association jumps on it. That is not freedom.
What will it take?