Cross-posted from: https://beehaw.org/post/11127623

The National Bureau of Statistics said the total number of people in China dropped by 2.08 million, or 0.15%, to 1.409 billion in 2023.

That was well above the population decline of 850,000 in 2022, which had been the first since 1961 during the Great Famine of the Mao Zedong era.

  • Ð Greıt Þu̇mpkin@lemm.ee
    7·
    10 months ago

    Bet good money to see a full court press from China discouraging turnout in the 2024 election.

    A Trump win is far better prospects for them being able to invade Taiwan before the demographics of it become impossible to overcome than a Biden win, and white TikTokkers aren’t gonna be convinced to vote Republican, expect a LOT of disinformation about how Biden doesn’t do anything or how he’s exactly the same as Trump and any other crock of shit you hear the twits spit out whenever they want to explain why not voting isn’t handing Trump the win or why doing that isn’t a fucking first order act of betrayal of the disemprivileged.

    • flatbield@beehaw.orgEnglish
      5·
      10 months ago

      The international situation is the biggest argument against Trump. Another 4 years of incompetence and self serving is something we cannot really have right now without huge consequences. Kind of feels like all the arguments in the US are just a distraction from the bigger issues.

  • Zworf@beehaw.org
    4·
    10 months ago

    It’s kinda good for humanity to shrink a bit though. We can’t keep expanding as we will eventually run out of space and natural resources. Most western countries aren’t really growing in population anymore either and I think that’s a good thing. We’re already suffering the consequences of too high growth in the past. Not enough housing, resource constraints, pollution.

    Also, why spend your life raising babies if you can enjoy yourself. Yes, for some people that constitutes enjoyment, but not for everyone. Certainly not for me. Let them have at it. Humanity absolutely isn’t going to become extinct, plenty of people will want to have them. Not families of 6-10 anymore but that’s all good. It would actually be amazing if the world population declined a bit and stabilised at say 2 billion. Sustainability is not infinite growth but stability.

    The problem is the inverse demography pyramid, less young people to take care of the old. The boomers have this issue and China will now too. But at least this problem is temporary and the world will be much more sustainable with a lower birth rate. Reducing economic issues, less risk of conflict as resources aren’t quite as scarce per person, less CO2 emitted etc.

  • LoamImprovement@beehaw.org
    3·
    10 months ago

    Yeah, it’s almost as if people don’t want to have kids when life is complete dogshit and the future only ever looks worse. But hey, maybe that mandatory optimism thing they’re trying to enforce will turn it around. Don’t believe your eyes and ears, everything is wonderful!

    Fuck it. Hope the great filter eliminates us with extreme prejudice before we get off this rock and ruin more fucking planets.

    • jarfil@beehaw.org
      1·
      10 months ago

      Everything points to humanity already having overcome the great filter, and for Elon’s family, bodyguards, and indentured serfs, to colonize Mars in the near future.