Recently, I was accused of being a eugenicist on Facebook, by someone I've known for years. This all came about because I gently steered him toward my theory that humans have nearly worn out our welcome on this planet and maybe it's time we trim our numbers down by about 19/20ths so we can rebuild in a more natural, organic way. That, or maybe a nice ice age comes along and buries most of our cities so we're no longer a blight. He, on the other hand, believes the Earth can sustain 100 billion humans with no issues whatsoever - just a note, that's over fourteen times our current population.

My views were hard to understand for him, as he's a conspiracy theorist and didn't get to the point of figuring out how humanity could effect such a change, only worried about "freedom and liberty", and thus blocked my account after getting the last word. This was after I decided to spin it from a father's perspective, and tell him that I know what child rearing takes, in terms of man-hours at a hospital, stress, nine months of waiting, resources, clean water, available food, distribution resources for all these supplies made elsewhere, etc. just so that one baby can make it from prenatal to postnatal care with no problems...Oh and don't forget those doctors, with their American post-grad degrees. That OB/GYN who delivered our son? He's about $100K in debt before he ever sees his first patient.

Of course, much of these niceties are a wall built around ourselves. If left to mother nature, most births would go just fine, but some babies would die during childbirth as mortality rates are higher in nature, all else being equal. I certainly can't imagine life without my son now, so I appreciate the medical technology. But I do have the perspective to note that no matter what we do, we will never be able to save every single baby and give him those precious first few weeks of constant parental attention, doctor's visits, warm blankets, and formula/milk. It's just impossible, at least with seven billion people on the planet: humanity cannot organize at that level and the resources are becoming too scarce.

The hilarious irony in my (former?) friend's rants, per the linked post above, is that he believes in the New World Order and secret societies controlling humanity behind closed doors. Centralized authority loves groups of stupid people in small areas, and with 100 billion people it would actually be easier, not more difficult, to continue centralizing authority. Spreading humanity out with fewer numbers would decentralize authority organically, as it's more difficult - and less attractive - to try and rule more people in far corners of the globe.

As a parent, my views on population, humanity, and life have only been strengthened each time I come home from work and look in my son's eyes. Reducing population globally can still be done safely and voluntarily, or even through more aggressive foreign policy such as "no more aid to dictators who show no regard for their own population". Why this is so hard to understand for so many people who fail to see the endgame of overpopulation boggles the mind.