Originally posted by Teenwolf
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also, dire predictions about our fate have been told since the beginning. most haven't come true. overpopulation, food shortages, and armies of extradimensional giant staypuff marshmallow men attacking NY. yet, some predictions appear to be coming true. warming, environmental problems, a pandemic.
I think an understated threat is loss of fertility from everyday chemicals in the environment, endocrine disruptors. (I do wonder if they have a role in gender identities. it makes sense that they might. but it's also natural) but I think I see loss of fertility as the biggest threat to mankind. because everything is built on the idea of perpetual growth. the answer to everything is more. both red and blue states need more babies or future voters, business needs cheap labor and more competition for jobs, old people need young people to pay for their healthcare and benefits, militaries need soldiers. different religions need more members. different countries need more citizens. it's a house of cards having one common need, more people.
but I am bothered by this view. it feels distorted. if you go further with it I would be saying each group wants more people for their group but not others or the competition. that would be like saying red states want to have more people and want blue states to have less or visversa. or America wants a higher birth rate but wants a competing country to have less. and that logic really doesn't add up. conservatives want to stop abortion everywhere not just in red states. or birth control. same with aid to developing countries tied to reproductive conditions, no-one's trying to lower anyones birthrates.
and automation. pretty soon war will be fought by robots or artificial intelligence or already with cyber warfare. you don't really need more people for that. automating jobs, again, no need for more people. so my logic doesn't add up. but falling birth rates is a dual threat. unfettered capitalism leads to increasing inequality which causes people to choose to have less children and forever chemicals in the environment everywhere in every person is dramatically lowering fertility. at the current pace it will be 0 well before the year 2100.
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