However, there are no known interventions at this time to reliably improve our planet’s carrying capacity.
True enough for the supply-side. The demand-side interventions are obvious, but are not seriously considered or even discussed because of religious/political/cultural stigma.
The final outcome involves people choosing to reproduce less, obviously. The means to get there in a way that’s broadly acceptable is the tough problem. But perhaps not the same order of tough as AI.
Many religions are hostile to family planning and no mainstream ones I know of are actively in favor of it.
People who choose to have large numbers of children have the advantage of numbers (insofar that their large-family values get passed onto their children).
Civil libertarians are uncomfortable with population control because of it being a cover for racist policies in the recent past.
Economic libertarians are uncomfortable with population control because they have come to associate that goal with intrusive government policy and this prevents them from even considering free-market means to achieve that goal.
Many, maybe most people like to leave the option of having more-than-replacement levels of children for emotional reasons that were perhaps shaped by evolution.
It’s a lot to overcome. Perhaps the first step is at least separating the actual issue from misguided solutions that have been attempted and make it less taboo of a topic for public debate. I don’t know, though. It’s easier to see the destination than how to get there.
True enough for the supply-side. The demand-side interventions are obvious, but are not seriously considered or even discussed because of religious/political/cultural stigma.
What interventions would you consider?
The final outcome involves people choosing to reproduce less, obviously. The means to get there in a way that’s broadly acceptable is the tough problem. But perhaps not the same order of tough as AI.
Many religions are hostile to family planning and no mainstream ones I know of are actively in favor of it.
People who choose to have large numbers of children have the advantage of numbers (insofar that their large-family values get passed onto their children).
Civil libertarians are uncomfortable with population control because of it being a cover for racist policies in the recent past.
Economic libertarians are uncomfortable with population control because they have come to associate that goal with intrusive government policy and this prevents them from even considering free-market means to achieve that goal.
Many, maybe most people like to leave the option of having more-than-replacement levels of children for emotional reasons that were perhaps shaped by evolution.
It’s a lot to overcome. Perhaps the first step is at least separating the actual issue from misguided solutions that have been attempted and make it less taboo of a topic for public debate. I don’t know, though. It’s easier to see the destination than how to get there.