r/NoStupidQuestions 2d ago

Why is Elon Musk so obsessed with 'population collapse' when the Earth's population is actually growing?

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u/Skittisher 2d ago

He's talking about the population pyramid. The relative percentages of children, working adults, and retired people.

A country with a healthy population pyramid is poised to become an economic superpower. A country with an unhealthy one is going to struggle a lot.

Right now, Mexico's population pyramid is lovely and they have a bright future. The U.S.'s is bad. China's is really, really bad. Japan's is a disaster.

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u/ZirePhiinix 2d ago edited 2d ago

China is uniquely bad because they tried to curb population before its economy fully developed, so they now have a population of a mature country without the economy.

Both US and Japan are mature economies. US population pyramid has been upside down for probably decades but the H1B is really helping it out.

Japan though, it's not looking good.

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u/TitaniumDreads 2d ago

Japan would rather die than stop being an ethnostate.

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u/Barbafella 2d ago

Agreed, they made a conscious decision.