The Population Problem

[hilts]

No idea what you're on about.

I’ll live with that Mr Quo:-)

 

[lancs blue]

Good point.

But there are also people like me in the current system, who choose to stay single and not have any kids, in part, because I don’t think I can provide my kids with the life I’d want to give them while living the life I want to live myself because I wouldn’t be able to afford both.

So I just stay on my own with the odd short relationship that I never let get too far.

That more or less sums up my life too, although the lack of a permanent partner may be more to do with my looks. ;-)

In wider terms of population control, how do people propose to regulate the population without draconian policies like China's one child restriction? As long as the evolutionary instinct to reproduce is still strong I don't see how the population can be controlled without legislation of some sort?

 

[Vic]

Finite resources is a limitation that can be overcome by technology. Human ingenuity is infinite.

The idea that the wealth of the world was finite was the dominant belief in Europe, until the UK invented consumerism based on what you want rather than what you need.

It‘s the tea set argument. In practice, you only need one teapot, and set of cups, saucers etc, but you want one for everyday use, a nicer one for sit down meals with the family at the weekend and one for special occasions and guests.

I use to make coffee using a kettle, now I have a kettle and a one cup thingy just to make coffee or tea and a fancy coffee maker. We used to scoff at the French for paying for water in a bottle, now we pay for stuff we can get on tap. There is no limit to what we will buy.

There is a distinction between wealth and resources, but as a nation we used to run on coal, then oil and natural gas, now more tech like wind and solar or even nuclear. Cars that run on petrol will likely disappear over the next thirty years. The trick is to never stay still.

As the late Katherine Whitehorn once said, "We don't need ninety per-cent of what we buy; we just can't do without it".

 

[Vic]

I know you’ve replied to me earlier, but just trying to catch up and combine here. I wouldn’t dispute that the building density within our urban areas isn’t the greatest - do we really want a Le Courbusier-like future of us living in Hong Kong style high density buildings? Investment in infrastructure would help for sure, but whether you’re for example travelling by public or private transport, numbers are an issue, and the point about how close together our urban areas are, be it West Didsbury or anywhere else is a valid issue.

As others have said trading numbers gets you so far, but some of this is about perception, and my own is that when I return to England having been abroad I am struck by how - in relative terms - crowded it seems.

I'm not sure what sort of housing you think Le Corbusier planned.

 

[Deleted member 77198]

Finite resources is a limitation that can be overcome by technology. Human ingenuity is infinite.

The idea that the wealth of the world was finite was the dominant belief in Europe, until the UK invented consumerism based on what you want rather than what you need.

It‘s the tea set argument. In practice, you only need one teapot, and set of cups, saucers etc, but you want one for everyday use, a nicer one for sit down meals with the family at the weekend and one for special occasions and guests.

I use to make coffee using a kettle, now I have a kettle and a one cup thingy just to make coffee or tea and a fancy coffee maker. We used to scoff at the French for paying for water in a bottle, now we pay for stuff we can get on tap. There is no limit to what we will buy.

There is a distinction between wealth and resources, but as a nation we used to run on coal, then oil and natural gas, now more tech like wind and solar or even nuclear. Cars that run on petrol will likely disappear over the next thirty years. The trick is to never stay still.

Ooh you can’t beat a proper decent cup of coffee!

But you’re right there. If you saw my footwear collection you’d look me up and down and ask “how many fucking feet have you got?!”.

Even if you opened the kitchen cupboard I keep my crockery in you’d be puzzled at how much I have considering I live on my own. And sometimes I eat straight out of the saucepan (I know, I know!) so sometimes don’t even use the multitude of bowls I have.