We are though, by any objective measure of our planet’s health and sustainability.
The only measure that you could look at that would suggest we weren’t overpopulated is the billionaire musk view of ‘but more indentured servants mean that I get richer’. But theres literal no way to look at our planet’s health or systems and our impact on them that wouldn’t lead you to think that 7B is sustainable.
The negative impacts of our systems of consumption and exploitation are different the number of humans that are on the earth, though. We could easily sustain everyone on earth with much less of an environmental impact with current technology and a more just economic system
Literally just the amount of fertilizer that we need to produce to grow crops at our scale causes downstream environmental harms. I fail to see how you could sustain 7B people at anywhere close to a comfortable modern lifestyle with current technology.
Hell we’re projected to run out of copper before we can hit Net Zero. And more people means that we need more resources which means that we need more of everything.
A more just economic system doesn’t even necessarily reduce emissions. Yeah it’s wasteful when a billionaire takes a private jet, but it’s also incredibly wasteful when a million people install air conditioning. All else being equal, the latter is still a better use of money, but from the planet’s perspective it’s the same.
any objective measure of our planet’s health and sustainability.
How much of that is due to capitalism being an inefficient economic distribution system, though? (I’m not saying it isn’t, I just haven’t done enough research on that to have an opinion)
We are though, by any objective measure of our planet’s health and sustainability.
The only measure that you could look at that would suggest we weren’t overpopulated is the billionaire musk view of ‘but more indentured servants mean that I get richer’. But theres literal no way to look at our planet’s health or systems and our impact on them that wouldn’t lead you to think that 7B is sustainable.
The negative impacts of our systems of consumption and exploitation are different the number of humans that are on the earth, though. We could easily sustain everyone on earth with much less of an environmental impact with current technology and a more just economic system
Do you have a source for that?
Literally just the amount of fertilizer that we need to produce to grow crops at our scale causes downstream environmental harms. I fail to see how you could sustain 7B people at anywhere close to a comfortable modern lifestyle with current technology.
Hell we’re projected to run out of copper before we can hit Net Zero. And more people means that we need more resources which means that we need more of everything.
A more just economic system doesn’t even necessarily reduce emissions. Yeah it’s wasteful when a billionaire takes a private jet, but it’s also incredibly wasteful when a million people install air conditioning. All else being equal, the latter is still a better use of money, but from the planet’s perspective it’s the same.
How much of that is due to capitalism being an inefficient economic distribution system, though? (I’m not saying it isn’t, I just haven’t done enough research on that to have an opinion)