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posted by martyb on Wednesday August 14 2019, @03:33AM   Printer-friendly
from the are-you-"kid"ding? dept.

Anti-natalists: The people who want you to stop having babies

They believe humans shouldn't have children. Who are the anti-natalists - and how far are they willing to push their ideas?

"Wouldn't it just be better to blow a hole in the side of the earth and just have done with everything?" Thomas, 29, lives in the east of England, and although his idea of blowing up the world is something of a thought experiment, he is certain about one thing - humans should not have babies, and our species should gradually go extinct.

It's a philosophy called anti-natalism. While the idea dates back to ancient Greece, it has recently been given a huge boost by social media. On Facebook and Reddit, there are dozens of anti-natalist groups, some with thousands of members. On Reddit, r/antinatalism has nearly 35,000 members, while just one of the dozens of Facebook groups with an anti-natalist theme has more than 6,000.

They are scattered around the world and have a variety of reasons for their beliefs. Among them are concerns about genetic inheritance, not wanting children to suffer, the concept of consent, and worries about overpopulation and the environment. But they are united in their desire to stop human procreation. And although they are a fringe movement, some of their views, particularly on the state of the earth, are increasingly creeping into mainstream discussion. While not an anti-natalist, the Duke of Sussex recently said he and his wife were planning to have a maximum of two children, because of environmental concerns.


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  • (Score: 3, Interesting) by The Mighty Buzzard on Wednesday August 14 2019, @11:29AM (6 children)

    by The Mighty Buzzard (18) Subscriber Badge <themightybuzzard@proton.me> on Wednesday August 14 2019, @11:29AM (#880076) Homepage Journal

    World population: 7,500,000,000-ish
    Area of Texas: 268597 mi2
    Theoretical population density: ~28K/mi2
    NYC population density: 26,403/mi2

    There would need to be similar living arrangements to NYC, of course. Water would take some serious engineering but with the Red, the Rio Grande, and the Mississippi all within spitting distance, it's not insurmountable. Food would necessarily have to be shipped in but with the entire rest of the planet to pick farm/ranch land from, that wouldn't be too much of a problem. As for sewage, I'd just pump it up between Virginia and Maryland (that's where DC is for you non-Mericans); it might improve the smell.

    --
    My rights don't end where your fear begins.
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  • (Score: 3, Informative) by FatPhil on Wednesday August 14 2019, @12:54PM (5 children)

    by FatPhil (863) <pc-soylentNO@SPAMasdf.fi> on Wednesday August 14 2019, @12:54PM (#880136) Homepage
    > the entire rest of the planet to pick farm/ranch land from

    So people aren't all in Texas then?

    And you seem to have overlooked that we're consuming about 1.5x earth's sustainable rate presently, so even the rest of the planet isn't enough.

    Your model is cornucopoeia woo-woo.
    --
    Great minds discuss ideas; average minds discuss events; small minds discuss people; the smallest discuss themselves
    • (Score: 2) by The Mighty Buzzard on Wednesday August 14 2019, @01:05PM

      by The Mighty Buzzard (18) Subscriber Badge <themightybuzzard@proton.me> on Wednesday August 14 2019, @01:05PM (#880139) Homepage Journal

      They can commute.

      we're consuming about 1.5x earth's sustainable rate presently

      Say self-hating econuts who're opining on something they can't remotely speak authoritatively on.

      --
      My rights don't end where your fear begins.
    • (Score: 1, Insightful) by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday August 14 2019, @06:47PM (2 children)

      by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday August 14 2019, @06:47PM (#880443)

      we're consuming about 1.5x earth's sustainable rate presently, so even the rest of the planet isn't enough.

      Asimov's book Caves of Steel describes vast underground cities. The population is fed by yeast products.

      Achmanov's book Среда обитания also describes underground cities that are home to a large population.

      Many books talk about underwater cities and farms. Some discuss arcologies. In other words, there are possibilities even on this planet. Good life does not necessarily require a house in suburbs. As soon as you increase the density of population, the transportation expenses drop and all services suddenly become available within minutes. You'll have not one store 7 miles away, but dozens of stores, left, right, above and below you. Or choose delivery - it's only minutes away, cheap. Many things become easier in a well built arcology.

      • (Score: 2) by FatPhil on Thursday August 15 2019, @08:47PM (1 child)

        by FatPhil (863) <pc-soylentNO@SPAMasdf.fi> on Thursday August 15 2019, @08:47PM (#880727) Homepage
        Ahhh, someone else who's never considered how important potable water coming in, and soiled water running away is.

        Enjoy drinking TMB's urine as you both die from some multiply-resistant rebirth of a medieval plague.
        --
        Great minds discuss ideas; average minds discuss events; small minds discuss people; the smallest discuss themselves
        • (Score: 1) by khallow on Thursday August 15 2019, @11:25PM

          by khallow (3766) Subscriber Badge on Thursday August 15 2019, @11:25PM (#880762) Journal

          Enjoy drinking TMB's urine as you both die from some multiply-resistant rebirth of a medieval plague.

          You already are drinking somebody's urine, many times recycled, and haven't died from such a disease yet.

    • (Score: 1) by khallow on Thursday August 15 2019, @11:04PM

      by khallow (3766) Subscriber Badge on Thursday August 15 2019, @11:04PM (#880756) Journal

      we're consuming about 1.5x earth's sustainable rate presently

      In other words, a few decades of technology development would get that under control. Assuming it's going to be a problem any time in the next few millennia.