Chinese tend to spend a fortune on the education of the children. Many probably dont have the funds anymore to educate 2 or 3. So they concentrate on the one they can afford.

The same could be said for most developed countries. Kids are expensive and the type of people who have lots of kids generally can't afford them.

With regards to the decline in the western birth rate, I always thought that the movie "Idiocracy " rather hit the proverbial nail on the head in the opening scenes.

I'm on the fence on this one, can't be convinced it is good or bad. I don't subscribe to it leading to the extinction of mankind, but feel that this sort of thing will go in cycles. The current environment whether political, economic, etc don't really add up for folks to have lots of kids. Resources whilst abundant in general if we maximised the full potential of the planet, typically aren't so freely available, so we've grown to this size which seems to fit. maybe radical changes in efficiency of power, food resourcing etc will change that & we can grow more, but for now we're at "max". Fast forward a century, maybe a thousand years and the population is dwindling there will an absolute abundance of everything cheaply due to the lower consumption, thus the barriers to having kids are removed & we start growing again. Add in multiplanetary expansion & all is good for the species right?

The only downside I hear is from economists or Musk types where "growth is king, anything else is a disaster" - aging population, nobody to do the jobs, etc. But then I would look at Japan and think - less people, but the folks there are automating just about everything with robots, etc - so how many people do you actually need? Technology potentially offsetting any productivity drop, because again the situation demands it. When humans are pushed into a corner, they find ways to overcome, I don't think this issue is any different.

I don't lose sleep over it, I've done my bit anyway (4 & counting..)

Spigzy wrote: ↑Fri Jan 19, 2024 1:06 pmBut then I would look at Japan and think - less people, but the folks there are automating just about everything with robots, etc - so how many people do you actually need?

A lot. That is why Japan, traditionally very restrictive, lets in lots of foreigners now. When I was there last year, I came across foreign taxi drivers, hotel, and restaurant staff. A friend of mine, who went to uni in Japan, told me that demographics have changed dramatically in the last few years. Not everything can be automated. Sure, meals can be served by robots, but it is more of a gimmick than anything else.

True, but somebody has to make said robots - corporate taxes can offset any losses from workers, and again the budget needed to support pensions, healthcare, etc would be less and less as the population decreases. And to be honest with some of the "retirement community" worker videos popping up on my X feed, fair to say a robot would be a much better option than random strangers beating your old grandma to death!

I'm just thinking back to medieval times & folks started recording this stuff, there is an explosion in growth across Europe due to better agricultural tools, etc. and then bam, the Black Death wipes out 50% of the population - and yet, here we all still are. Probably not a pleasant journey for recovery, but it didn't cause the human race to be wiped out like some of the Musky doomsayers. The world will change, humans will adapt, etc.

I will continue to drink tea & have a biscuit until I see a real reason for hysterical panic.

What we really need is a decrease of birth rates in Africa and India. Having fewer Chinese on this planet is all good and well, but not enough of a reduction.