If life expectancy were to increase, where would people live and what would they eat?
Suppose for a moment that medical science made it possible for people to live 25% longer on average – instead of most people dying in their 70s or 80s, the were able to live until age 100 or more.
(Whether that’s desirable for, or desired by, the person is a different question.)
So within a generation or so, world population would move from 7.8 billion (what it is now) to roughly 9.5 billion people.
- Where would they all live? We have housing challenges in the US now, and also in the rest of the world.
What would they eat? Starvation and food distribution are already issues, all over the world and increasingly in the US.
Would social welfare programs (social insurance in most of Europe, Social Security in the US) change to reflect the increased longevity of recipients?
(Whether that’s desirable for, or desired by, the person is a different question.)
So within a generation or so, world population would move from 7.8 billion (what it is now) to roughly 9.5 billion people.
- Where would they all live? We have housing challenges in the US now, and also in the rest of the world.
What would they eat? Starvation and food distribution are already issues, all over the world and increasingly in the US.
Would social welfare programs (social insurance in most of Europe, Social Security in the US) change to reflect the increased longevity of recipients?
