The Real Problem

It seems obvious to me that the root cause of most of world’s problems is that there are too many people. I find it deplorable that there is so little discussion of overpopulation, particularly in political and journalistic circles, where I feel it should be the major topic.

In fact, the opposite seems true. When I read reports of population rates declining, they are presented as problems, with concerns of financial growth and power balance far outweighing the survival of our species and the planet.

I have a hard time supporting solutions to world problems that don’t include concerns about overpopulation. If the solution is about trying to accommodate the too many people already on the planet, I don’t see it as a solution, but rather an exacerbation of the problem.

Yes, population control is a very fraught topic. Trying to control things like how many children one can have, or when, and how long, we prolong life, are very challenging subjects. Our political and journalistic systems have developed in a way that discussion of this level of unpopular idea will remove you from power and from the conversation. This makes addressing the issue next to impossible.

We are leaving it up to natural nature and human nature to take care of the overpopulation problem. This means pandemics, epidemics, wars, major social unrest, natural disasters and extreme climate events. Instead of learning from lemmings, we are imitating them.