What’s the biggest news story of the moment?

The kidnapping of Nancy Guthrie?

The LDP’s sweeping victory in last weekend’s Lower House elections in Japan?

The drought in Kenya?

Yes, depending on what part of the world you happen to reside in, one of these stories (or the local equivalent) will be dominating the headlines when you scroll through the newsfeed today.

But 100 years from now, what news from our era do you think your great-great-grandchildren will be reading about?

Do you think they’ll be learning about the Epstein files?

Do you think they’ll be preoccupied with the geoeconomic scramble for rare earths that presaged WWIII?

Do you think they’ll be scrutinizing New World Next Week Episode #619, in which James and James cover the Bezos ring camera surveillance fiasco?

Actually, that’s a trick question. Given the way birth rates are plummeting throughout the world, it’s quite likely you won’t even have great-great-grandchildren running around 100 years from now.

And, even if you beat the odds and actually do have progeny walking the earth a century hence, they’ll no doubt be more interested in the stories that we’re ignoring right now:

New York State Is Headed for a Decade of Population Decline

and

Congressional Budget Office Projects Lower Than Expected US Population Growth

and

Japan nears 10% foreign population years ahead of official forecasts

and

Iran’s Youth Population Shrinks as Demographic Window Rapidly Closes

and

France sends letters to 29-year-olds telling them to get on with having children

and a thousand similar stories that we hardly notice today.

In case you didn’t notice, we’ve already begun the descent into a shrinking world, and it’s already tearing the fabric of society apart at its seams. Indeed, the demographic crunch is perhaps the most consequential story in the history of humanity, and yet it’s scarcely ever talked about.

So today, let’s dive straight into the heart of the matter and see if we can answer two questions: how does population collapse lead to the collapse of civilization, and is there any way to avoid this demographic destiny?