BernieMittens
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Replace civilization with ~my company~ and you get the real story.
We have enough people. We actually have too many people. Plus raise your hand if you want your kids growing up in fall out land with no EPA or worker rights and regulations to speak of
Just Scare tactics is all. Long story short Elon musk is concerned if you don't pop out more disposable drones he'll have to treat the ones he has as "valuable employees" and He can't have that hurting his bottom line can he! ~S~
CNBC: Elon Musk says 'civilization is going to crumble' if people don't have more children.
https://www.cnbc.com/2021/12/07/elon-musk-civilization-will-crumble-if-we-dont-have-more-children.html
We really don't need billionaires, we need to tax them. For a better cleaner future.
EveryNameIsTakenDammit
Oh shut the fuck up, Musk.
nickwinters
Ironic that yesterday he wanted to drop a bill in its entirety that would help people raise children.
icetravanti
TIL Having money makes you an expert on absolutely everything.
ThanksForTheThing
In the US, many people can't afford kids. Hospital bills for birth alone is insane. Dude should pay taxes, and govt should end oligarchy.
gorillaClutch
Orphan crushing machine is slowing down. Need more orphans
HARUHHISM
Are you going to pay the child support, Elon?
Thephedora
You got kid money Elon? Because the rest of us in America the business fucking don't.
RoquetoBT
I love it when people with no idea what real life is like try to give the mortals a lesson on life.
Imalwaysready
Elon can suck a solar-powered dildo. Can we stop blowing smoke up his ass already?
dogfavoriter
We need to stop assuming billionaires know what they're talking about.
BernieMittens
Like politicians! Somewhere along the lines we forgot they lie to us regularly
morninggloryshade777
We are collectively using up natural resources at unprecedented rates. This is not sustainable.
BalaclavaBob
People can't afford to have kids, you stupid rich cunt .
ServaDoctrina
Put a baby in me, honey. Elon musk says it's an emergency.
68people
Can we all just stop posting what this out of touch, non expert says about anything. Boring when yall worshipped him and it's boring now.
thequicksilver
Right, because there's no way the problem is literally people being unable to afford being parents.
NETNES
This. ^
ISeeAlmostEverything
Gotta have slaves to row the rich boat and build your casino on Mars for you.
GreyKnightTemplar666
Elon wants cheap exploitable work force that will do as he pleases when he and other billionaires control survivable land
backrideup9
If he'll be alive for the Mad Max apocalypse, it's already to late to care or change the outcome.
JustinBarker12
He also included that people shouldn't live as long either ie work until you aren't useful then die
laserfork
Yeah this. "We need more people so employees are more desperate for jobs and I can exploit them easier." He just wants more grist to grind.
CarpoolTunnelSyndrome
Even if she of those people are employers your point still stands.
alwaysupvoteprincessbride
yes, how can we continue the pyramid scheme without people birthing?
YourSelfMan
We need an equal money system, and until then we need basic income guarantees.
BoobsAreSoMuchFun
to the front page with this comment
AlmightyThor117
When I feel like my children would live in a world that’s not constantly on the edge of some sort of global catastrophe, I’ll have children
HandoB4Javert
WhiteBoyWhoLovesHommus
He goes more fash by the day
BBQatCirces
"Civilization" would be just fine. Our unsustainable growth economy, on the other hand.... People need to stop listening to this nerd.
qwertdeep
He’s not wrong on overpopulation not causing climate change. I can’t stand the guy but he’s not on the side of the supremacists in this one
qwertdeep
Our unsustainable growth is probably a bigger factor. Especially considering how much more CO2 per capita richer countries produce
qwertdeep
https://greenisthenewblack.com/opinion-the-overpopulation-myth-example-ecofascism/
Bullheadbelly
I’m kinda ok with humans returning to a more sustainable system of small self sufficient groups with relative isolation
Bullheadbelly
Maybe once year during festival you get to buy things from outside and the traveling merchant brings news from the outside world
Imalwaysready
But then the visitors from the stars come and are initially confused by our seemingly voluntary return to a more 'primitive' lifestyle >
Imalwaysready
until spending some time with us, their leader falling for our village elder romantically before learning a wisdom from us they'd forgotten.
afatrollofmyown
Damn. Y'all play D&D don't you, cause that's some magic stuff.
Imalwaysready
I think I was loosely describing a ST episode. Actually probably like 7 different, but essentially identical, episodes. *also rolls dice*
PrinceOfWhales
Elon Musk is Joe Rogan with worse hair.
greenf1sh
Says the guy who had a kid out of wedlock and has already broken up with the mom.
Someshithead241
There's 7 billion people in the world, a vast amount of whom aren't being properly housed or taken care of. There's more than enough
sauronater
7.75 billion in 2020. 3.03 billion in 1960. I say let the population take the hit. It'll happen either way, might as well do so by choice
rando84
If developing countries grow as the developed countries contract, those numbers and the resources to fix them will just get worse.
Altanese
To be fair most of those problems are because of wealth hoarding and purposefully making things shitty for the majority, not because 1/
Altanese
Earth does not have enough resources. The Earth has more than enough carrying capacity for all seven billion humans. Far more. Don't let 2/
Altanese
the false idea that Earth has too many people distract from the real problems. It's like when an oil company asks people to 3/
Altanese
reduce their carbon footprint. It's a total distraction.
qwertdeep
Overpopulation is a very dangerous idea as well that is pushed by ‘eco-fascists’ and propagated by people sometimes unknowingly
slinkydust
Armchair Elon over here is suddenly a population expert.
NotABadLookingNarcissist
If they want us to have more kids they need to invest in healthcare, child care etc - the cheap route is to just make abortion illegal. JFC
aeolk
Oof
flyingaardvark22
He's rallying against the BBB act that would make it slightly more bearable to bring children into this world... What a dunce.
2rhody
ouch. but I see your point.
thatshytidontlike
You want dirty coat hangers in back alleyways? I can source the historical alternatives to safe, legal abortion if anyone likes
NotABadLookingNarcissist
It almost sounds like I’m advocating for illegal abortions, but that’s def not what I’m doing - just pointing out the gop strategy. ;)
rumandbass
But that is the result. Abortions still happen, just not safely.
NotABadLookingNarcissist
Absolutely. Making them illegal doesn’t make there be less of them. Sex Ed and easy/free access to contraception makes the be less - 1/
NotABadLookingNarcissist
2/ but also a majority of women polled cite economic reasons as the top reasons why they chose to not carry a fetus to term.
NotABadLookingNarcissist
*there
madbydesign
Civilizations crumbled when the masses were tired of rich people's greed.
flacoloco
i think we would flourish by building on top of their dead bodies
Slamtastik
Pretty much, and this problem could just be solved by them paying their taxes so the rest of us could afford to have kids.
barnwolf
Naw, it's when their fundamental structure becomes too out of touch with changing circumstances.
barnwolf
Like a pen/paper bureaucracy which works fine for 1million people, but can't scale to 1billion people.
barnwolf
Or one that only functions when there's rapid industrialization, or rapid technological improvements, or rapid territory conquest ect...
rawdog
Capitalism will crumble because its base on the premise of leveraging the output of the future generations to carry todays spending.
my1rstlaptopwas34inchscreenup
nah. it's a consequence of capitalism, it's not in the design. capitalism suck. they get fat while a lot of folks die from malnutrition now
NotABadLookingNarcissist
That’s a good point. It’s also leveraging the output and resources of poorer nations.
jlr1555
Indeed. These demographic trends would persist even if we worked actively to change them. We won't. We are about to face major changes.
DaNylz
Only if productivity does not improve. Which is wont without free education and healthcare. Look at scandinavia. A workong hour is expensive
madeejit
Workers and societies have never been more productive. We could be *this* close to a true age of plenty, mainly through science and ...
madeejit
... technology, capitalism was also there at the time. But all the gains keep getting funneled to the top. Because they're too fuckin greedy
DaNylz
There are countries that do not see that happening. Sweden, norway, new zealand, netherlands, germany are good examples.
SimonDesrosiers
Democracy will crumble, it’s almost a thing of the past already
DaNylz
Maybe for the us
JoeyJoJoJrShabbadoo
When the US goes, the rest will follow shortly after.
DaNylz
DaNylz
The US is not the leader of the world anymore. Neither on human rights or values, nor on living standard, free press or democracy.
MisterLemons
The sociopolitical aspects of the United States existence alone is far more complicated than "We don't rely on them". No, they're not - >
BroBummel
How is this a capitalism problem? A socialist society also needs to replace aging populations. Or it will stagnate and recede.
ishouldprobablybeplayingpokemonATM
thank you, I ho wstly don't know how all these people think pension social security is going to work with a smaller next generation
ishouldprobablybeplayingpokemonATM
thank you, I ho wstly don't know how all these people think pension social security is going to work with a smaller next generation
callmethelizardqueen
It is also the reason behind countries paying medical & maternity leave- to up birth rates. US doesn't do it because there isn't a big labor
callmethelizardqueen
Shortage. The poor continue to have children & immigration remains high.
BroBummel
China, for example, is on a track to crunch by the end of the century.
qwertdeep
According to the US press, China has been on the verge of collapse every year for the last 40 years
BroBummel
Population crunch != communist collapse.
lolpatroll
yeah, In the west you can solve it with immigration, but its a short term solution to a long term problem.
BroBummel
The trick is you need to get to a certain level of development in order for folks to be comfortable w/smaller families (not just doom/gloom)
BroBummel
To sustain that society, though, you'll need a replacement population. China short-circuited this with an artificial crunch, which might /
BroBummel
Either work well in the long term (smaller, more sustainable) or completely fuck them over.
BroBummel
Either way, best estimates is that, in a fully developed world, the population will level out on its own.
rando84
I agree, though Musk is just saying what economists and demographers have been saying for decades now. It’s less about indefinite growth (1
rando84
than a sustainable balance. A population crash increases the number of retirees each worker must support and reroutes society’s resources (2
rando84
away from education/science/innovation to elder care/pensions. Social democracies have been at the forefront of making it more affordable (3
rando84
for people to have kids if they choose to. The US is lagging behind because we penalize parents in countless ways. (4
Piornet
The world is vastly over populated and we're already starting to run out of resources - including food and water - for everyone.
qwertdeep
The world isn’t vastly overpopulated and we’re not running out of resources. The resources are just distributed in a horrible way
qwertdeep
https://greenisthenewblack.com/opinion-the-overpopulation-myth-example-ecofascism/
rando84
A declining population in the developed world and a rising population in the developing world would worsen resource scarcity. Japan’s (1
rando84
population crash hasn’t yielded any real benefits to the world, it’s just taken more of a back seat in global initiatives and innovation. (2