During a recent interview at a Wall Street Journal event, Elon Musk shared some interesting theories about the future. According to CNBC, Musk told the audience that civilization will “crumble” if the birth rate continues to decline. Musk is the father of six children. He shares five sons with his ex-wife Justine Wilson and one son with his former partner, Grimes.
“There are not enough people,” he said at the event, which was held on Dec. 6. “I can’t emphasize this enough, there are not enough people.” Musk went on to say that declining birth rates are “one of the biggest risks to civilization.” The billionaire said that there are “good, smart people” that believe that the world population is growing out of control and are, as a result, not having many children.ย
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When it comes to their concerns, Musk claimed, “It’s completely the opposite.” He then suggested that people look at the data, saying, “If people don’t have more children, civilization is going to crumble. Mark my words.” Just as the tech mogul said, the birth rate is declining and there has been a growing movement to not have children. Many prominent figures, including Prince Harry, have even pledged to not have more than two children because of concerns about climate change and inequality. The Guardian reported that Harry, who shares son Archie and daughter Lili with his wife Meghan Markle, received an award in July after they pledged to have no more than two kids. The Duke and Duchess of Sussex received the award from the charity Population Matters for making the “enlightened decision.”
“Having a smaller family reduces our impact on the Earth, and provides a better chance for all our children, their children and future generations to flourish on a healthy planet,” the charity said in a statement, per Sky News. “We commend the duke and duchess for taking this enlightened decision, and for affirming that a smaller family is also a happy family.” Many individuals are following Harry and Markle’s lead when it comes to family planning. Back in July, analysts at Morgan Stanley told investors that the “movement to not have children owing to fears over climate change is growing and impacting fertility rates quicker than any preceding trend in the field of fertility decline.” They came to this conclusion after going over surveys, academic research, and Google data.ย