What’s in it for us?

Population projections

Darwin noticed that “More individuals are born of every species than can possibly survive.” The result? “[F]requent struggles for survival” that yield natural selection. Selection from overpopulation.

During improving times, education and expansion of opportunities and freedom especially for women, has interacted with many factors to produce a demographic transition. Positive demographic transitions result in fewer conceptions.

Some liken a positive demographic transition to tossing a ball in the air. Negative demographic transitions increase the number of conceptions over time.

The paths of demographic transitions in different societies are rarely identical. In The Third Reich Mother’s Cross medals rewarded high conception rates. Other countries implement pronatal strategies for reasons such as equipping themselves with bigger armies. Population-aggressive traditions and policies have been undertaken by countries, industries, religions, and many other entities for many different reasons. Population aggression has increased markets for industy while reducing the cost of labor. Population aggression gives some religions a Darwinian edge over other golden-rule competitors.

Calhoun’s mouse and rat universe studies in the 1960’s and 70’s suggested more frightening notions. Calhoun experiments limited small mouse and rat populations by living space, but provided ample food and water, controlled transmissible diseases, and eliminating predation. This yielded populations that exploded during what Calhoun called the Exploit Period. After an Equilibrium Period followed, increasing displays of violence began a crash in numbers that ended in extinction of his entire colonies.

Should the work of the Commission on Population and the American Future be revived ASAP?

Musk wants more people.

Over 15,000 scientists issued their Second Warning to Humanity in 2017.  They suggest fewer people would be in our best interest. In fact, their concerns were based in 1992 on a global population only a fraction of human numbers today.

Population aggressive power-brokers have their own reasons for throwing lobbying money at policies that unlikely to best serve tomorrow’s children.

Work, such as that done a half century ago by the Commission on Population and the American Future, should be renewed without delay.