One question I have about these discussions is that I’d read some arguments back when I took a class on environmental science that humanity was near the earth’s carrying capacity, meaning there is not capacity on earth for a much larger population (and capacity is quite likely smaller). This term “carrying capacity” seems like a sketchy one that tacitly packs in normative and positive judgments, so I don’t endorse it, but is there a chance that something like this is true, and so lengthening life will reduce the probability of others being born because it raises the probability of environmental problems that lower the sustainable population?
This is true, but the carrying capacity increases as technology improves. This plus the fact that birthrates are under the replacement rate in the developed world and going down pretty much everywhere should make us think we will not be in a malthusian situation when LEV arrives.
One question I have about these discussions is that I’d read some arguments back when I took a class on environmental science that humanity was near the earth’s carrying capacity, meaning there is not capacity on earth for a much larger population (and capacity is quite likely smaller). This term “carrying capacity” seems like a sketchy one that tacitly packs in normative and positive judgments, so I don’t endorse it, but is there a chance that something like this is true, and so lengthening life will reduce the probability of others being born because it raises the probability of environmental problems that lower the sustainable population?
This is true, but the carrying capacity increases as technology improves. This plus the fact that birthrates are under the replacement rate in the developed world and going down pretty much everywhere should make us think we will not be in a malthusian situation when LEV arrives.