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PaperclipPerfector  4mo ago (text post)   28493 thread views

Culture War Roundup for the week of February 9, 2026

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One question I find myself asking is: should we try to keep expanding the population

Who do you mean by "we"? And what are "we" doing to "keep expanding the population"?

Without these sorts of specifics, it's difficult to even start thinking about costs, benefits, and practicality.

That being said, I think it's worth keeping in mind that there are a lot of bad actors out there who are happy to spin, wildly exaggerate, and outright lie about impending disasters in order to grift or otherwise promote some kind of agenda. Often it's pretty obvious by their actions that these people don't seriously believe in the scare stories the peddle.

So generally speaking, I am extremely skeptical of any argument along these lines:

(1) There is an impending environmental disaster

(5) Therefore, my allies and I should received goodies and/or my out-group should be punished and humiliated.

The general argument form you've sketched, apart from the word 'environmental', is the core of a vast range of positions in politics. I agree we should be sceptical of all such arguments but there is simply no avoiding them, or it will be difficult for anyone to raise concerns about things unless they are personally unaffected.

My own view on the overpopulation question is that a flatlining population is necessarily good at some level of population/technology/culture, otherwise our species will be courting disaster. Whether we have got close to this point yet is an empirical matter.

The general argument form you've sketched, apart from the word 'environmental', is the core of a vast range of positions in politics. I agree we should be sceptical of all such arguments but there is simply no avoiding them

Sure, which is why I said "extremely skeptical." Because sometimes the IRS really does call people about tax issues.

or it will be difficult for anyone to raise concerns about things unless they are personally unaffected.

Well at a minimum people should act like they seriously believe their claims. For example, if Greta Thunberg seriously believes that we are on the brink of a climate catastrophe, it's difficult to see why she would invest so much time and energy into the Gaza conflict. To put it simply, how dare she?

My own view on the overpopulation question is that a flatlining population is necessarily good at some level of population/technology/culture, otherwise our species will be courting disaster. Whether we have got close to this point yet is an empirical matter.

Given the rapid changes in technology taking place, it's not an easy question to answer with certitude. Actually, that's not totally true. When someone predicts that the sky is falling, it's usually pretty safe to bet that they are wrong.

Anyway, for me, I would be interested to know what specific policies are being proposed by environmentalists to achieve "flatlining population"? I have a strange feeling that they are remarkably similar to general Leftist policy goals.

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