is population growth a good thing?

[Eli]

Meh.
Define optimal.

Edit : (re: Firelad)

[DanielXY]

Of course, kids are an IMMENSE responsibility. But one has to do it. Otherwise, one has done NOTHING in this world. Unless he's a famous scientist, leading politician, or an amazing artist.

Ok so why should I do anything big in this world? Any good reasons? (answers should not contain a god or some mystic greater good to be of any relavance to me)

Besides having a kid is not special. Millions of others have famalies. So what?

[Az]

Ok so why should I do anything big in this world? Any good reasons?

No reason. I thought this was an axiom for most people. If you feel that you don't have to do anything big, and you think that greater good is a boring cliché, I've got nothing to sell you.

That's such a sad reflection on our society.

[Japher]

I see it as a room full of monkeys... If you have more monkeys you have a higher likelihood of one of them actually typing a word.

Thus, the more people there are the higherly the likelihood that someone might become someone of note and come with an idea or an invention that could increase the capacity of earth and/or the abilities of humankind.

[Az]

humans are a bit more trainable than monkeys.

[Japher]

just a bit though...

[DanielXY]

@ az
I thought you are an utilitarian. = max happyness possibel. Most ppl. who achieved something great in history didnt seem to be very happy themselves. Usually they were kind of depressed (according to the history books I know at least). Sure their achivments may have increased the happyness for others .....

I for my part prefer to take the happyness-concept on a more individuell basis ...

[Japher]

I for my part prefer to take the happyness-concept on a more individuell basis ...

TMI

[Bosh]

Well population growth is unsustainable in the long term and can hurt an economy (look at Saudi Arabia, the per capita GNP has been dropping steadily there for a long time due to high population growth and now enough jobs to go around, same deal with Iran). But then if you get too much less than an average of 2 a woman then you have the average age going through the roof, a huge population of retired people to support compared to the number of working age people and general demographic implosion. This is going to his a lot of Europe HARD in the next century, especially in the East were you have low birth rates and young people emigrating.
What'd be perfect is about a 2 kids per woman birth rate, and what with a few kids dying young you'd get a nice slow population decline...

[chequita guevara]

Originally posted by Boshko
What'd be perfect is about a 2 kids per woman birth rate, and what with a few kids dying young you'd get a nice slow population decline...

Not necessarily, as there are more women than men. 52% of the population are women.

[Jon Miller]

definitely a good thing

the more population the more einsteins and van gogh's, the more bachs and mozarts

note that using the population is deffinitely important (imagine all the great people being under used in places like Haiti and the like)

also it is high population which has driven humanity in the past and will drive it in the future, if there was no population pressure than there would be no reason to achieve anything and we would become scientificall and culturally stagnant (and I beleive die out)

so do your part for the team

Foster care and adopting are also helping the team though, since it is helping to keep a life from being wasted

Jon Miller

[chequita guevara]

Originally posted by Jon Miller
(imagine all the great people being under used in places like Haiti and the like)

Imagine so many people the whole world looks like Haiti.

[Jon Miller]

that is not an issue of people

that is an issue of use of people

the earth could easily handle 10 times as many people as we have now without even going for efficancy like becoming more vegeterrian

I could have used other examples than haiti, the problem in all those really poor crappy places to live is not that there are too few people, it is that the infrustrcture is bad or nonexistant, the government is corrupt and the people's lives are being wasted

my grandparents lived in haiti for years and my mom visited, what expereince do you have of the problems in haiti?

Jon Miller

[Az]

Originally posted by DanielXY
@ az
I thought you are an utilitarian. = max happyness possibel. Most ppl. who achieved something great in history didnt seem to be very happy themselves. Usually they were kind of depressed (according to the history books I know at least). Sure their achivments may have increased the happyness for others .....

I for my part prefer to take the happyness-concept on a more individuell basis ...

You've answered your own question.

just a bit though...

not all of us are chemical engineers, Japher.

[realpolitic]

Originally posted by Sava
Population growth is good as long as it doesn't exceed the ability to sustain such itself.

We may have already damaged earth's carrying capacity
The brightest person I've ever met claimed that the bizzarre fires in America and mexico and weather in '98 was the beginning of that. The weather has been crazier this year. There were 13,000 more dead in France this year supposedly because of the heat, and fires were raging in Europe.