This is a bit of an off the cuff consideration for the future of what things might be like if world populations continue inclining as they have.
The Reverend Thomas Malthus once stated concerns for human populations neither meeting the needs to its given population and predicted the potentiality of some disaster having blighted humanity where part of the world's populations would be in disastrous decline a quote from him as follows:
That the increase of population is necessarily limited by the means of subsistence,
That population does invariably increase when the means of subsistence increase, and,
That the superior power of population is repressed, and the actual population kept equal to the means of subsistence, by misery and vice.[7]
Where it seems Malthus, a man for the ages in recognizing the base foothold that civilization's have in so far as human population growth as related to its food production, may neither have predicted clearly things such as the 'Green revolution' which would amount to dramatic scientific achievements in creating boons for food production gains having started mid 20th century. On the other hand, Malthus may have some renaissance in a modern world where, at least in recent times some indicators point to the possibility that something of 'food production' gains may be on the decline but not drastically at the moment. This, however, doesn't exhaust possibilities that there could potentially be something of catastrophic collapse in industrial food agriculture somewhere somehow in some un foreseen way, or maybe even for seen. As some potentially might theorize, for instance, as food production hegemony is given to any particular large scale production to food crop types, any narrow range of food products themselves having been engineered only towards specific increasing crop yields relative to amount of land use, could prove disastrous as long as populations are increasingly interdependent on these sorts of yields and something were to wipe out the surpluses of food in general resulting. The other downside to this occurs when focus of agriculture food crops research has narrowly focused itself in some devotional manner to say industrial corn/maize production, or say wheat, and soybean alone. While neither factoring other research into other alternative crop types, both increasing potential food production yields. I say this not necessarily with respect to improving food productivity necessarily by way of 'franken foods' as in genetic modification, but that likely as age old as the process of hybridizing crops through selectivity processes, not that this doesn't also have potential future ramifications. The future world, however, if it such that people potentially are living longer lives coupled to the relation of some potential declining food productivity gains, may be met, one might potentially imagine, by something of rising social and economic divisions where life expectancy on the other hand, is well below more affluent populations. Here potentially, one might be thinking in the realm of science fiction where dramatic stratified contrast exists between richer and poorer populations. One population clearly more dominant and 'elite' with respect to a broader mass of peoples that not only literally control food resources here, but that also happen to have a vast 'ring world' separating their enclave even more so relative to other peoples restricted to hellish terrestrial bowels. Not that I am certain that things would exactly be given in this way, but it seems to potentially illustrate rising the result of dramatically increasing social differences in the way earth is populated and the types of life that one might have.
Bright prospects, however, even as some may be inclined to speak out on the horrors of modern social issues are that some mitigating factors to population increases might be in existence. For instance, the hermetic 'creep' Quohen in the movie 'The Zero Theorem' having some manner of sexual dysfunction could be a boon to decreasing social population pressures. Obviously, 'Quohen' isn't out their playing the 'sexual field' and even if he were in the virtual sense, he weren't communicating sexual diseases in the process. I've seen recent sociological essays written, for instance, in the Atlantic speaking out to the horrors of sexual dysfunctions of this order, for instance, having arisen in Japan (pardon me if the opinion piece weren't an Atlantic, the 'truth is out there' however), and at least the articles thrust attribute to sociological trends in Japanese population decline were given to something of increasing desire of individuals of either sex resorting to adult entertainment materials. The article, for instance, goes on further to claim that one male individual were so dysfunctional that he couldn't be aroused by anything other than 'female power rangers'. On the upside, and again forgive if I am wrong to the article's original contributor(s), there is a problem with this? If it weren't cosplay or anime alike given to this trending sociological issues, on the other hand, yes it seems potentially there might be less in a given populace seeking long terms relationships, or as in the phenomenon of rising 'stay at homes' less inclined to venture out into the world in general and would rather socialize virtually, more likely it seems any number may be actually benefiting their world in other regards. Declines in sexually transmitted diseases for one, and then in so far as world population growth reducing potentially another problem. The other upside is that there may be something more humane by these natural gratification seeking inclinations, one it is given to a particular lifestyle choice that isn't clearly harming any one, other than not leading to the furthered propagation of peoples in a given world expected to support someone else's pension fund. In truth, however, where problem's may be occurring with some of the writer's rising sexual dysfunction assertions maybe in the omission of sociological trends in Japan that may have little, in fact, to do with sexual dysfunction and problems related to economics. It is also true, for instance, that Japanese couples have been more inclined (at least in the past decade) to put off marriage, and/or even cohabitation owing to rising costs and neither having the sorts of economic mobility that would exist in previous generations. Any rising desire for sexual gratification, say through virtual adult entertainment industries may be something of a subsidiary effect owing to some bigger primary effects leading to a given sociological trend here. Otherwise, yes, it seems potentially true that maybe there is a trend towards naer do wells given to hermetic lives, there is a reserved term I believe in the more extreme case for those Bartleby the Scriveners of the world. It seems as our world as it is more virtual could also have the net effect of communicating not only less certain types of diseases, but that population growth may be counterbalanced by changing social habits here. With the likely prospect of less human's literally driving cars, given to automated driver less personal transportation systems, people may be less inclined to get out into the world, or in some manner posing less of a statistical issue in communicating problems in the world in general. The darker ramifications, however, being it might seem that 'Quohens' relate so much less to the ever increasing noise generated in a world inclining only to higher densities. It is also true less American teenagers, have been desiring to get out and get driver's licenses also. The long term prospects thus, for a shifting social demographic also could be a change with respect to the heart of a big American consumer industry. Less males relating, for one, to the personal automobile, as a symbol of male vigor, may indicate shifts in the longer term in so far as auto manufacturing. A positive of this, however, are that there may be less polluting vehicles out in the world contributing to the carbon cycle, not withstanding even with short term declines in gas prices, that fuel energies in this sector will have some tapering demand, thus balancing some world energy resource uses, especially as the product consumption use of first world 'free market' economies have shifted away from old personal consumer trends. One would likely add, however, I foresee that fuel efficiency standards not merely on the incline given by driver less systems in optimizing transportation in the way of reducing fuel usage, but that also, one may be less likely to see teenagers hot rodding their vehicles. Relative to the old 'rebel' James Dean myth having once existed, future days may be headed to a closure more so on this. I have read of focus and attention given here, on the other hand, it seems in recent times to the loss of some cultural ideological American spirit, or some to say where are the children desiring in principle to move about the world given to the same self reliant and independent spirit in taking charge of their own futures, or having sought independence. The problem may not be exactly spirit, however, especially in the way of potential bust cycles, as it is true in other tenured 'first world' countries, this trend may be given to much the dictum of economy as it ever where in the past, when a periodic social shift might find only more occupants living under the same roof, and old bachelors and maids alike in that view, or at times where families under more dire circumstances might have moved leaving some road side relational casualty in the process. It is also one might imagine, the duress having led potentially to the outcome of 'war' as has happened in the past, although maybe with future countries having invested themselves more so in the collective sense to economic security, individual dreams and desires have been tempered or mitigated otherwise.
One may wonder though, however, were stresses as related to resources have increasingly risen, could also factor potentially somewhere down the road in some way to increasing likelihood of conflicts. The saving graces, however, given to technology are that we also live in a world where at the moment, there should be in theory less inclination towards conflict if it is such that resolutions to these disputes are given to creative solutions either in the allocation and usage of resources in general. Thus if, increasingly water usage and water sanitation issues have emerged, there could be potentially only more ways in dealing with these issues from the standpoint of future technologies. That is, in how societies are using water and necessary water needs. If it is true that in a future world better use of existing resources are likely, it seems these are also likely mitigating factors to conflict in general, provided that there aren't other reasons given driving such. As I have seen written, changing valuation of economic resources seem also to be shifting to greater likelihood that our futures could be shifting more towards technocratic systems where distribution, allocation and otherwise general management of all resources are only further handled in the way of analytic handling by data processing in such world (and one might imagine exponentially increasing as with the rate of adoption relative to our past), or where the power in resource management may really lay is not directly in the hands of individual humans potentially making 'poorer' decisions but in systems that aid in thing like forecasting, and/or given to much smarter engineering technologies. It also means potentially the closure of old eras where less civilizations are likely to see their advantage in the longer term at the expense of others. Which is to say, increasingly 'regulatory' environments could be prospectively more so especially with potential inter conflict management mitigation, or it seems potentially with increasing populations the solution to violence may be more likely interceded by not only our technology but also given to the nature of human populations coexisting in higher densities.
One may look to the metaphor of transport automation here, or even with shipping transportation management which has increasingly moved towards further automation such that any high percentile rank in this, has shown only strong interdependence for the safe and adequate functioning of such systems. Where futurist writers likely do have something right here, is that we may be more likely to live in a future where technology abounds in governing the systems that we live in and strongly determining management outcomes, and that interdependence is only further likely not less with increasing population growth. Where we have it wrong potential, in such vision, is that we consider it wholly unnecessary to consider the ramifications otherwise, or likely it seems if we think solely of our independence alone, this could be like the logistics disaster of food stuffs sitting on the tarmac rotting away while it were meant to serve in mitigating a crisis. This is to say, the functioning of larger civilizations and economies alike are ever given to interdependence on the technologies serving especially as they vitally serve more so in the roles that they are allocated. That is, otherwise, without, less sustainability is likely to result.
The upside of technologically increasing civilizations are that, for instance, the aid to ending exploitative systems such as the formal use of 'slavery' in the United States was only furthered by inter competition differences between old systems and progressive newer ones, or in part, while much support could be made for the ethical and moralist movements that strongly aided in the ending of institutional slavery, technology was also potentially a factor here. One may stress human labor unable to compete with machinery producing products would also lead the way to mechanized farm machinery commonly used today that is quite vital to the sustainability of American agriculture, and obviously it were a send to do away with old institutional horrors. In modern times, it seems if anything of manufacturing horrors resembling institutional slavery found in the past, perhaps, likely any threshold should exist, machines outdo human labor in these instances in removing it. If our futures are given to the inclination of how we live and work, this isn't given by static notions. That is, that our future is given by ways not by exploitation or stressing human labor to the brink in social un sustaining ways, it is that our future is given by ways of finding any new diversity of occupation to flourish in ways that were neither previously had. Where at times I have seen some futurist writers remiss in conveying in a given dystopian vision, concerning technologically based human enslavement of a given populace, is that very essence of 'slavery' itself seems to be human programmed endeavor alike to the technologies fashioned. That is, if there were some advantage given in an older economic system to the notion of human populations being enslaved, it were humans doing the enslaving and programming this very much into the structures of their societies. Other futurist writers have imagined in other ways, however, where societies have seemingly moved to the degree of cutely obscene laziness (or see the Lotus Eaters), or in the darker view where a race of people have taken up almost machine heavily divided roles in fulfilling the obligations and needs of another race of peoples. It is a part of the technology of industry itself and humanity in it that serve fashion these roles as has happened in the darker chapters of world history as it continues today. That is, where the good and the bad of technology coexist.
I might lastly comment, as an independent publisher, that I might not likely be engaging in the activity of blog writing if it weren't for such technology, or likely ever heard of...granted being merely a now myriad of voices out there engaged in the process of this type of publishing. Secondly, it is essence my personal social status likely compelling me in this manner. Neither having the same 'social' life or the same pre occupations and obligations that others might have, leads one potentially to an endeavor such as this. I've seen recently a social post, 'Why do we make life so hard?' I might assert that this were entirely relative. Likely we'd find living the life that other people lived in the past unbearable I might imagine if it weren't for all the conveniences that make our lives today more equivalent in some ways to Roman aristocracy, and this type of lifestyle disseminated more broadly than ever, such that our poor today might enjoy far more luxuries than the 'poor' of the past, especially considering that you might be lucky to live beyond your thirties back then, or in saying if you think its bad now? I think of the common Roman peasant meal back then which were to say something of grain soup with chunks of rock debris thrown in the mix, pretty bland gruel and that were likely just about it for a day in day out meal. Then if you were thinking you might be a warrior back in those days. Highly not likely, usually this were reserved for wealthy land owning classes of the 'elite' back in those days, just as much as voting rights were given to these exclusive classes.
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