Capitalism, growth and population

If there's one message the change from one to two-children policy in China is sending, it's that growth is incompatible with population control and limiting it doesn't work too well with good old capitalism!

All nations demand growth, their politicians are promising it and yet, to feed the “monster” you need more consumers, more participants, hence more people. The advent of market economies, or capitalism, lit up a fire on population. Its growth has been astounding; from about 500 million in 1700, it now stands at 7.3 billions and is expected to push forward, particularly in Africa where it should quadruple by the end of this century!

Obviously, continued physical growth is impossible on a finite planet, so the question is no longer whether we should stop human growth, but when and how. Based on what we hear about the subject, few want to entertain this thought because they're clueless as to its consequences for our future.

So, if we can't count on our so-called world leaders, we'll need to take the matter into our own hands, unless we're totally convinced that we're so bright, that we can extricate ourselves out of that mess through more technology or by colonizing some nearby planet!