The world population is expected to start shrinking within this century after hitting a peak in the mid-2080s due to lower fertility levels, particularly in China, according to the latest projection by the United Nations.

  • givesomefucks@lemmy.world
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    3 months ago

    Seriously.

    The only people with reason to be concerned is the ultra wealthy

    At literally every point of modern history, a reduction in the amount of humans was beneficial for the vast amount of humans in the long run.

    Like, even the Black Death led to reduced wealth inequality and the beginnings of workers rights.

    When labor is scarce, workers get treated better. When there’s a surplus of workers, people are desperate for a job and will work for little.pay in unsafe conditions.

    • Copernican@lemmy.world
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      3 months ago

      Wtf. So instead of the rich eating the poor the poor should just eat the poor to improve the labor market in their favor?

      • phdepressed@sh.itjust.works
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        3 months ago

        If you strike and there’s no scabs for them to hire or the scabs are even more expensive (because they aren’t desperate for a job) then it becomes cheaper to actually give the workers what they want.

        It is the opposite of the poor eating the poor. Being educated, having fewer kids later in life makes getting out of the poverty cycle a lot easier for anyone.

        • Copernican@lemmy.world
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          3 months ago

          Did you read the comment I responded to saying that the black death was good because a lot people died and as a result created a better labor market? That’s saying death is a good thing to cull surplus labor.

          • phdepressed@sh.itjust.works
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            3 months ago

            I think you’re reading too much into what’s not there. The poster is talking about how less people resulted in the improvement of labor conditions. In the past this has only happened noticeably through large scale death. The black death is probably the most drastic but similar has happened after both WWI and WWII. The difference is that the current labor supply reduction won’t be from death but from reduced births. However, increased power of laborers should at least be similar whether the cause is through death or reduced births. China, Japan, and South Korea are experiencing/are going to experience this first without drastically increased immigration and the rest of the western world isn’t far behind.

            • Copernican@lemmy.world
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              3 months ago

              At literally every point of modern history, a reduction in the amount of humans was beneficial for the vast amount of humans in the long run.

              Like, even the Black Death led to reduced wealth inequality and the beginnings of workers rights.

              I don’t see how someone can claim that the mass death of people is simultaneously beneficial to that people.

              There’s a difference in reduction of humans by events that cause death at large scale vs decline in rates of reproduction. Clearly catostrophic death is being used as an example of “a reduction in the amount of humans.”

              • phdepressed@sh.itjust.works
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                3 months ago

                Large scale death events are the only reference we have for the type of population reduction that we are/will be seeing.

                Labor supply being reduced while demand remains means that labor is stronger. Whether that supply reduction is due to death, population decline, or other causes is not really relevant.