We can look at "prosperous" (let's find some happiness index) countries that have seen declining population for a while. Japan comes to mind.

It's not like Japan deteriorated into some extreme poverty because of it, right?

So maybe it's not that bad, "to be in decline" (in population number, or related GDP), as we are meant to believe?

> Japan comes to mind.

I think it's a little too early to draw conclusions. Japan reached their peak population in about 2010, and the decline since has been mild.

give it time, they will have issues taking care of their aging population without a sufficient number of people of age that can provide economic output and care. It's a problem that eventually fixes itself but until we work through the "backlog" it will be pretty painful.

Do we have examples of this? I know these arguments, but I wonder if that will really happen. Maybe public care will shrink, but still many of the aging boom generation will afford private care, or not need much of it.

> ...pretty painful.

How will the subjected population notice that you reckon? Prices change, sure, but many of us on earth also live in a lot more luxury than 200 years ago: so we have some fat on our bones.