Remember being told that overpopulation would doom us to a Soylent Green world by 2050? Turns out the scarier sci-fi scenario is the opposite one: a planet running out of babies and, eventually, workers, taxpayers, and caretakers.
In her recent Future Perfect piece — politely titled “Progressives should care that the global population is set to fall” — senior writer Kelsey Piper lays out the case that global headcount could peak and start declining as soon as 2060. Yup, that’s in 35 years, not some distant timeline.
Why should anyone other than Elon Musk (and diaper manufacturers) care? Because a shrinking, rapidly aging society is an economic weight: fewer people to pay the bills, invent the vaccines, or staff the nursing homes, all while a ballooning cohort of retirees needs more support.
Kelsey’s bigger point, though, is political: The right has seized the flag on “pronatalism,” leaving many on the left treating any talk of falling birth rates like a Trojan horse for Handmaid’s Tale-esque policies. That knee-jerk silence all but guarantees the worst voices will monopolize the debate. Progressives actually have plenty of good ideas here — from cheaper housing to universal pre-K — that increase freedom and nudge birth rates upwards, helping families have the kids they already say they want .
This is quintessential Vox journalism: taking a looming, statistics-heavy problem hiding in plain sight and asking, “Wait, are we all arguing past the real issue?”
If you value reporting that spots tomorrow’s crises before they become today’s headlines — and does it without fear of ruffling partisan feathers — I hope you’ll consider becoming a Vox Member.
Thanks for reading — and for thinking beyond next quarter’s memes.
—Bryan Walsh, editorial director
