Long term, I think it's necessary and useful for the population to shrink. The cliff isn't a bad thing, it just looks that way if you're worried about the next hour instead of the next 20 years.

The powers that be want the population to grow forever, for the power of the individual and the value of the individual to shrink so they can be marginalized. They don't want to pay for laborers, they don't want people asking for good working conditions, they want people scrambling for places to live, and for limited resources, and for a shrinking planet that they own and meter out in tiny proportions.

The biggest increases in human rights and worker's rights and pay came about because the population shrank. The black death famously led to increases in worker's rights. World War 2 was followed by a boom in worker's rights because there weren't enough people for all the work that needed to be done and employers had to fight over workers.

Getting past the medium-term negative consequences of a baby boom without a follow-up baby boom to cushion the demographic blow hurts because you have all these old people to take care of, but eventually you have a younger generation with lots of places to live, more resources to live off of cumulatively, and lots of jobs to choose from.

The fact that people aren't having kids right now is part of a feedback loop. People are having to work so hard just to put a roof over their heads and food on the table, of course people aren't having kids. Then you have the cruel thing governments are demanding -- that instead of having a mother or father raising your kids, you have an institution raise them so you can work instead, and you should thank the state for providing such an institution.

Now, I'm not saying don't have kids. What I've come to believe holding my son is that it's an important part of our lives and writing The Graysonian Ethic made me realize that someday you'll be on your deathbed, and it won't be lofty ideals holding your hand as you slip into oblivion, it won't be grand ambitions to change the world that will speak at your funeral, it won't be doing what some ivory tower idealogue says is the right thing that will think of you after you're gone. I'll be the people you actually form real connections with, especially your kids.

What I'm saying is that the "numbers always have to go up" mentality is dangerous and ultimately not a good thing for individuals. We can grow the GDP forever, but doing it this way will only hurt most people.