An assistant professor at one of the most prestigious universities in the U.S. has said that the “clear solution” to Japan’s aging society is for “mass suicide and mass ‘seppuku’ (ritual disembowelment) of the elderly”.
“Squandered” is carrying lots of baggage there, in particular the assumptions that population growth is a good thing, that it’s sustainable, and that the average person will be better off in a positive-growth scenario. None of those are proven. And the assumption that population reduction is bad is often because measures such as GDP (which is approximately proportional to population) drops if population does. But aggregate GDP is not the appropriate measure in such a case.
The problem is already well underway in the west. Some potential growth has already been squandered, acting now is an emergency.
“Squandered” is carrying lots of baggage there, in particular the assumptions that population growth is a good thing, that it’s sustainable, and that the average person will be better off in a positive-growth scenario. None of those are proven. And the assumption that population reduction is bad is often because measures such as GDP (which is approximately proportional to population) drops if population does. But aggregate GDP is not the appropriate measure in such a case.