How A Lowering Fertility Rate Will End Humanity

Elon Musk has said a lot of things, but one of the most important was when he warned of humanity’s greatest threat. He said possibly the largest threat to civilization was the rapidly declining birth rate.

According to a study from Washinton University’s Institute for Health Metrics in 1950, the average woman had approximately 4.7 children in their lifetime. In 2017 the number crashed to 2.4. According to the study when that number goes below 2.1 the population begins to fall. Well by the year 2100 it is projected the average amount of children born per mother will be 1.7. These numbers are detrimental if you care about a growing population (I’ll explain why you should later). According to the study by 2100 twenty-three nations will lose half their population. I could go on and on about the statistics, but if your still not convinced look it up and you’ll immediately be met by hundreds of number and articles showing the declining fertility rate. 

Why Is A Declining Population A Problem 

Lots of people, possibly including you, don’t see a problem with lowering fertility rate. So what if mothers decide they don’t want children. What’s the worst that could happen?

The End Of The Human Race

This reason is probably the most obvious. If people stop having people, then eventually there will be no more people.  One of our most basic goals as humans is to continue our species. Lowering fertility race stands in the way of that goal.

Loss In Innovation

The two factors that have led to the success of humans are adaptation and innovation. In essence, we are weak, small, and hairless creatures that couldn’t hold their own against any major predator. Yet we sit firmly on the top of the food chain. Why? Because of our intelligence. We innovated weapons to fight animals. Structures to protect against the elements. Agriculture to control the source of food. In more modern times though we develop cures to diseases and create organizations to prevent war. This is only possible if we have the resources otherwise known as people to create them. It’s really quite simple. More people, more solutions. More solutions create a better quality of life. We would be losing out greatest asset if our population begins to drop.

A Growing Older Population And Lowering Young Population

When fertility rate goes down the younger population obviously will drop drastically. But the people that have already been born will continue to age. This destructive age structure can cause many problems. For starters, you still have a large population that needs support, but since a majority of the people can no longer work, there is no one to fill the economy. Lack of work leads to reduced industrial expansion, poverty, and inevitably a weaker nation. A country can’t survive on only a weak population. A successful population requires what is called a population pyramid. It is a perfect balance of an aging population’s slow death which makes way for a new generation. Lowering fertility rate destroys the triangle.

Conclusion
Humans must strive to carry on our species. Therefore a lowering birth rate is very dangerous and must be dealt with. We can’t survive if it isn’t.