By Donald A. Collins | 18 January 2023
Church and State

The headline on page one of the January 17th, the Wall Street Journal screams “China’s GDP Growth Weakens to 3%”.
Read the article here.
Translation: China has a recession in 2022 https://t.co/y2gnGYEZ9f
— Speaker of the House Balding 大老板 (@BaldingsWorld) January 17, 2023
Then the same day we learn from a NY Times article that China’s population is declining for the first time in 60 years. “China’s Population Falls, Heralding a Demographic Crisis”.
Read about it here.
The framing of this story is bizarre. The alternative to population decline is endless population growth. Is that really preferable? https://t.co/sXwipSvJf0
— Elizabeth Kolbert (@ElizKolbert) January 17, 2023
Both articles suggest this is bad news.
The page one Washington Post story “China may help stave off global recession” whose subtitle “Economists already see signs of a rebound” means favoring the back to China’s and the world’s unsustainable growth of people and exhaustion of our sustaining resources.
Read here.
China is powering through an epic wave of coronavirus infections, setting the stage for a rebound in consumer and business activity that could prevent the global economy from tumbling into recession.https://t.co/F3u8CaCHx9
— The Washington Post (@washingtonpost) January 15, 2023
COVID deaths should give us all a clue about how these growing numbers affect our future!
So staying on their point about the positive value of growth, the Post in horror points to a decline in China’s population in this article.
China's population shrank last year for the first time in 60 years, in a clear sign that the country is facing a looming demographic crisis worsened by decades of the one-child policy. https://t.co/IrPA9lxhjV
— The Washington Post (@washingtonpost) January 17, 2023
Do these modestly diminishing numbers forecast that the false God of endless growth on our finite planet is finally hitting physical reality? Doubtful.
These harsh realities better awaken world leaders if we homo sapiens want to save enough of our flora and fauna to sustain a human population of no more than about 3 billion, which scientists tell us might be possible, but not 8 billion now alive on earth and still increasing to perhaps 11 billion by 2100.
As highly respected scientists have long accurately pointed out many times before, this population growth has brought the world perilously close to the end of sustainability.
Will this new Chinese data motivate leaders on limits such as population, resources, and climate change limitations? Will they make any statements denying the limitless appeal of endless growth? Do facts make any of them even blink?
The multiple COP meetings have repeatedly recorded the world’s nations are NOT living up to their promises on keeping world temperatures under 2 degrees Celsius. Ice caps are melting, water shortages are combining with bizarre weather events and natural resources are declining at historic rates. With such lack of overall environmental progress, it would seem obvious that these Chinese clues on population and GDP declines and will incite more concerns about keeping growth going strong!
The dire predictions of Paul Ehrlich and many others about the potential world chaos in this century seem to be right on track to happen.
A truly thoughtful analysis on the effects of curbing unsustainable population growth can be found in the attached article from the UN. It asks all the right questions which should be considered in ameliorating the problem which will require multiple difficult and perhaps not unachievable tacks.
The article offers achievable plans for reduction of human numbers which you can read about here.
"Global population growth has been the overarching demographic story for decades and will remain a predominant trend for many years to come."
Michael Herrmann, Senior Adviser at @unfpa, explores solutions for growing concerns about demographic shifts. https://t.co/8QTtEhQsOO pic.twitter.com/TkVxubk9ko
— UN Geneva (@UNGeneva) August 2, 2022
The author, Michael Herrmann. Senior Adviser, Economics and Demography, United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) of this definitive analysis of what lies ahead, admits, “While the status quo might be comfortable for many, we need to recognize that the notion of a stable population is unrealistic.” That statement means to me a complex future with no easily achievable goals.
One obvious yet stifled to date by religion, culture, and male power mongering remains the subjection of women around the world in every country, as the Supreme Court’s June 24, 2023 Dobbs decision illustrates, even in a so called enlightened democracy.
That the rise of women’s control over their fertility has been impeded by male tyranny makes hope for a comfortable reduction of human numbers verry slim indeed.

“What Can Be Done Now to Save Habitable Life on Planet Earth?”: https://t.co/fHuh0CG6JD
“We Humans Overwhelm Our Earth: 11 or 2 Billion by 2100?”: https://t.co/TA4j7cp1tE
“From the Dissident Left: A Collection of Essays 2004-2013”: https://t.co/lkC2t3E1A9 pic.twitter.com/bQsL2mLBcO— Church and State (@ChurchAndStateN) November 1, 2021
China Update: 2022 GDP Slows, Population Shrinks
China’s population drops for first time in 60 years
Earth currently experiencing a sixth mass extinction, according to scientists | 60 Minutes
>
Sir David Attenborough on overpopulation
Be sure to ‘like’ us on Facebook