Why do we need the population size we’ve got?

[AutumnOffGrid]

I really need this explaining to me.

Why is it that in the UK we need to keep maintaining or growing our population? We have a significantly larger population than most of our European neighbours and less land than them.

What would be so bad if we let it recede back to former levels? It’s not working at this number of people. Why does it constantly have to be on an upward projectile? Surely there’s an optimal number of people to have in the UK and it doesn’t necessarily have to be 70 million (which is not correct I believe, but more).

This is not a thread about stop the boats, no immigration, or benefits broods of children. It’s a genuine question that I don’t understand the answer to.

Why does the UK need more people, or this many, when other countries don’t?

Aging people aren't going anywhere. We have a massive economic crisis and need to support them. Assuming that people expect free health and pensions.

If there was not state care, we could reduce population. Normally the people advocating for that are the people who would live in mass poverty, think victorian era

Just to add, many doing these working class ‘such hard physical labour’ are coming out of schools. What’s the point of education when educated school staff themselves are on minimum wage, and are constantly under pressure to do this / that / the other extra for free?

Asking people to work for nebulous feels and rewards was never going to replace actual physical rewards, not in a country that began this phase from inequality anyway. It was always only going to lead to snobbery and the return of a class system. Anyone with the practical mindset the elite claim they need is not going to fight past snobbery to do jobs requiring qualifications that themselves cost a fortune, that give the same wage or less as the next job with none of it. Women are going to be disproportionately affected, as men always push women aside to make their lives easier. This is what we see on the ground.

To keep funding the boomers to have a quality of life no other generation will ever get. And of course fund our envious social welfare system that’s is attracting both legal and illegal benefit seekers from all over the world, lucky us. And finally fund our bloated inefficient public sector. The plan seems to be rinse the tax payers until the middle class is taxed out of existence. Then we’ll be back to feudalism - exactly where our billionaire overlords want us to be.

Many degrees are increasingly useless especially with AI and social media. Who needs a creative writing or graphics design degree anymore? You're more likely to make money and have a stable income as a roofer or hairdresser