How to live in a family of 8 billion people?
🎬 See this article as a video, along with the exact moment we turned 8 billion
Today, on November 15th 2022, our global family is estimated to have passed 8 billion people. As anyone who has a large family can contest to, this comes with a few challenges. Every second, we gain two new siblings, which amounts to more than 170 000 by midnight. Good luck remembering those names!
To put that further into perspective, one in every 15 humans who has ever existed in the 200 000-year history of humankind is alive right now. Unfortunately, the same is not true for our cousins in the animal kingdom. In fact, if you gathered every single mammal on Earth, from whales to deer to mice, we humans and our livestock would account for 96% of the total biomass. Our presence on this planet is dominating, to say the least.
So how will we manage to share our toys – or rather our planet, not with one annoying little brother, but with 8 billion of them?
The problem, sort of…
The concern for overpopulation is not new. It was made famous already in 1798 by, Thomas Malthus, a founding father of modern statistics. In his most famous work, Malthus predicted a sombre future, where a linear growth in food production would not keep up with an exponential growth in population. Due to unimaginable technological advances in food production, the mass starvation predicted by Malthus is considered not to have occurred, and his theory disproven. (Although, if you asked one of the 828 million people going to bed hungry every day, you might receive a different answer).
After Malthus, a number of doomsday scenarios have been attributed to population growth. These range from shortage of water or other resources, to pandemics, to desertification, destruction of the ozone layer, and the one we hear most about these days; climate change.
Although being a list of serious problems affecting millions of people and animals, most of the issues above have not led to the massive civilization-destroying collapses predicted. The reason for this, and a beacon of hope, is that we humans are incredibly creative and adaptable when we have to.
Being 8 billion people on this planet (and on a steady course for 11), doesn’t mean we are doomed, but it sure means we have reached that we-have-to moment. Now is the time to unleash our creative potential, to collaborate, and to show solidarity. Basically, to be good brothers and sisters.
The middle way
How to achieve this, takes us back to the family metaphor. Let’s say we’re going to Iceland. We all understand that Dad can’t go ahead and buy first class, if that means that the rest of the family, including the cat, have to cross the Atlantic swimming, in order to economize. Apart from a pleasant flight, this would not even be beneficial for Dad (unless he’s a sadist).
Living in a family of eight billion is not so different. We are travelling together, not to Iceland, but to 2023, 2024, and so on. That means we must travel, or live, in a way that does not end in disaster. Being so many people means that now, more than ever, anything short of collaboration and solidarity is unsustainable.
Yet, this is not how we have lived so far. 138 countries in the world (70%), consume beyond what the Earth can sustain. At the same time, more than 3,5 billion people live in some form of poverty. The path ahead is about finding the middle way, where we all live well, and we all live sustainably.
This will mean that many of us have to live with less. We need to learn to be content with enough, at the expense of excess. Solidarity, simplicity and minimalism must become the mainstream forces driving our societies. In order to shift to such values and lifestyles, we have three paths, which are closely connected and work best in collaboration.
We must develop and make accessible new sustainable solutions and technologies to help us live well with less
We need political decisions, including laws and economic incentives to implement those new solutions and sustainable behaviour
We need a mainstream shift in mindset and culture to adopt and internalise new solutions and behaviours
The hidden potential
Making some sacrifices to ensure a dignified standard of living for everyone, beyond being an ethical no-brainer, has a significant but often overlooked benefit. Not only does a higher life standard reduce birth rates, but it also boosts our combined capacity for problem solving. A capacity which will come in handy in the years to come.
With 8 billion people in the world, we have 8 billion heads and hands that could work towards better solutions. Compared to when my grandfather was born, we have four times the human capital to solve the challenges we face.
However, at present only part of those 8 billion heads and hands are at work for a better future. Many of them are too preoccupied with questions such as how to afford dinner, where to sleep safely tonight, or when they’ll find a stable job. In order to unleash the incredible potential of humankind, we need to ensure food, safety, education, health, and job opportunities for all.
This is why the path ahead of peaceful and sustainable co-living is a path where we meet in the middle. Where we all enjoy a life of enough, at the expense of excess. It is a path where solidarity, simplicity and minimalism become mainstream values, guiding us towards happy and just lives, in one happy, well-fed family of 8 billion people.
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I woke up early in Brazil to witness the exact moment the predictions passed 8 billion, at 08:18 GMT.
Lastly, a few links I found especially interesting when doing research for this article:
