There are not enough people on Earth, expert says
(ORDO NEWS) — The world is experiencing a global decline in population, and this could undermine the entire world economic model, leading to a major disruption to our global economy, says StepStone CEO and author of the book The Future of World Population Sebastian Detmers.
In an article published by Business Insider, Detmers says, “There’s a big shortage of people coming and that’s going to cause global economic chaos.”
Detmers notes that even as we approach the 8 billion people born into this world, “the forces leading to population decline are already at work” and he expects population decline in the next four decades.
And don’t blame it on a war, a virus, or a natural disaster.
“People are healthier, richer, more educated, live longer and have fewer children,” says Detmers.
“But this decline in the human population is not a cause for joy, but rather a looming disaster for our economy.
The huge labor shortage caused by population decline will hurt our global economy unless we find new ways to keep things going.”
While a declining population may be a hopeful signal to those concerned about overpopulation sapping the world’s resources, Detmers says falling birth rates mean there won’t be enough young workers to support this elevated standard of living.
He expects the world’s population to drop by one billion people from its peak by the end of this century, based on research from the Gates Foundation, and adds that the working-age population in Italy, Spain and Greece will fall by more than half, while Poland, Portugal, Romania, Japan and China will lose up to two-thirds of their workforce.
“The impending population decline is a wake-up call,” says Detmers. “The most important fuel for economic growth over the past few centuries has been people. And with fewer people, you can do less work.”
We have already seen how a shrinking workforce reduces efficiency, whether it be teachers and engineers or nurses and support staff. All this leads to a downward trend in production and productivity, spending less money, shrinking business, lower profits and lower economic growth.
“The world will need nothing less than a revolution in our minds to combat the coming demographic decline,” says Detmers.
“We need innovation and new ideas: robots and artificial intelligence that do our work for us and give everyone a chance to get a good education and training.”
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