The best thing about having billions of people is that there are more geniuses alive today than at any time in human history so far. The downside is that stupid people are just as stupid as stupid people have always been, and there are billions of them as well.
@@Alltime2050 I'm not a big fan of the idea that having more people means we can solve our way out of problems. There probably are some problems associated with high populations that just aren't practically solvable with more brainpower. I normally call that notion something like "the Cornucopian fantasy". The idea I hear voiced more often these days is that populations will naturally fall and stabilize as standards of living increase. There does seem to be some data to support that idea, at least in the short term (next century or two). Unfortunately, it's not clear at all that high standards of living can be maintained for most or all of humanity, and in the long run reproduction is a biological imperative with very deep roots. Malthus was wrong on the timetable, but I don't think he'll be wrong forever.
@@bobbun9630 For all but the most recent human history, the number one thing anyone could do to perpetuate the species was to have as many babies as possible. Many people lived and died knowing that reproducing was the only thing of true value they ever did in their lives. Conservatives still think that way today. I am less concerned with Malthusian theory than I am with getting the cult out of government while there still might be time to effectively deal with the environmental pressures that, if left unchecked, will render Malthus a forgotten relic of history.
