Elon Musk, considered the richest man in the world, says he is concerned about the future of humanity, stating that “the fall in the birth rate could threaten human civilization”.
Newsroom (19/12/2021 18:35, Gaudium Press) Musk, the founder of Tesla and SpaceX, recently made the statement at an event promoted by the Wall Street Journal.
The father of six, Musk mentions the fact that many people mistakenly think there are too many people in the world and that the population is growing out of control. “It’s completely the opposite. Please look at the numbers! If people don’t have more children, civilization will collapse, mark my words!”
Musk, the powerful man who intends to start implanting brain chips in 2022, knows what he’s talking about. According to the World Bank, the global birth rate has been declining since 1960.
This year, China, which has a very strict population control policy, and until recently imposed fines and sanctions on couples who did not obey the maximum number of children, sanctioned a new family planning law that allows up to three children per family. A massive campaign has begun to encourage this to happen.
Threatened, China bets on the success of the new family planning law
In the 1970’s, the most populous country in the world implemented the one-child policy to slow down population growth. Anyone violating this policy was fined, or the mother forced to have an abortion. In 2016, the Chinese government changed the law, allowing two children per couple.
According to a study published by the BBC, based on a comparison of censuses between the years when the one-child and two-child policies were implemented, 1979 and 2016, the number of births was reduced by half. Between 2016 and 2020 there was another sharp drop, from 18 million babies to 12 million.
Low birth rates and an aging population, leading to a shrinking labour force, threaten the economic future and industrial strategy that China has used for decades to climb out of poverty and become a world power.
Science bows to religion
Although the State is secular and the world is becoming increasingly more atheistic, it is interesting to see the main exponents of economics, politics, science, and technology repeating the words recorded in that ancient book that many governments endeavor to abolish from public libraries: the Bible.
In the first chapter of the Book of Genesis, there in the distant past that gave birth to our civilization and now threatened by our own disobedience, are recorded the orders of the One who is richer than the richest and more powerful than the most powerful:
“God created man in his own image; He created him in the image of God, He created man and woman. God blessed them, ‘Be fruitful,’ He said, ‘and multiply, fill the earth and subdue it.'” (Gen 1:27-28).
These were God’s words to our first parents, Adam and Eve, the trunk from which we have all descended; a fact that science too is now forced to admit, after studies have pointed to the existence of the primordial genome, a single source from which all humanity emerged.
Later, after the flood that swept the human species from the planet, with the survival only of a single branch, the family of Noah – who, once again, would become the trunk – the Lord of lords repeated the same order: “God blessed Noah and his sons: Be fruitful,” He said to them, “multiply and fill the earth.” (Gen 9:1)
Having more children and living less time
Famous for his bold and controversial opinions, Musk, who classifies himself as a “socialist, half-Democrat, half-Republican, and practically an atheist”, has also said that people should not try to live for too long in order to have a society where new ideas have a better chance of success. Well, that is a topic for another conversation.
The main point is that God made everything perfect, that’s why He created man and woman, so that they could unite and form the family, which is the basis of society. Man, who since Adam has allowed himself to be guided by the imperative of sin, has placed pleasure first, and to this he has added a series of vices and distortions that have disfigured the plan of Creation. Having children has ceased to be a natural thing, a necessity, and now we are on the verge of tasting our own poison.
An evil that affects all levels of society
The birth rate has decreased. The number of abortions has increased, with the legalization of the deadly practice in many countries. Children are no longer welcomed and desired, and all social strata suffer as a result. The less economically privileged strata no longer provide the necessary labour for the proper functioning of the social machine, and the most privileged – possessors of large fortunes – leave incalculable assets to a few heirs. These heirs are mostly unprepared to continue the companies, the fortunes, and their destinations, affecting once again, and in an even more tragic way, the production chain.
In this sense, at least, Musk has made his contribution to the population of the planet, although five of his six children were conceived artificially, in vitro.
By the grace of God we still have truly Catholic families who fulfil their role, bringing into the world the number of children that God determines, educating them in religion and faith, preparing seeds of a future very different from the world of hybrid creatures. A world dominated by Artificial Intelligence, like the one conceived by men who exploit space and think they are the masters of tomorrow, though they are not.
Tomorrow belongs to God and there is no doubt that His plans are perfect and will surprise in an unimaginable way.
According to Bloomberg’s Billionaires Index or Forbes Magazine, I am not among the richest men in the world, but, like Elon Musk, I can say, “Mark my words!“
Afonso Pessoa
Compiled by Sandra Chisholm
