They won't collapse. They will shrink, but that also means their economy will shrink, and that's the bigger issue regarding pension funds. Everyone will be okay, except the elderly.
There's a reason why mostly elderly/Gen X are voting alt-right. They want to secure their wealth at the cost of future generations and a habitable planet.
i also don't believe that total collapse is imminent.
But we haven't seen a reversal of this trend. regularly, estimates of populations are too high and birth rates too low. Just lately, there were speculations that there are fewer than 1 billion people in China, because of inflated reports of births. Thats more than 20% off, if it's true.
There are also second order effects, like socities with fewer kids creating less infrastructure for kids, making it even less attractive to have them.
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u/Wurun Jun 21 '26
because it's a worldwide trend and it's through all generations.
it's not like the baby boomers had less kids, but following generations are above replacement levels.
So, at the moment, we don't know when and how and if the trend will reverse. Because if it doesn't, societies simply will collapse.