People, people everywhere but not one to find.

News (1) that China’s population dropped for a second consecutive year is a constant warning to policymakers that the most constraining resource in the World is people. With only the African subcontinent, few central and south American countries, the Indian subcontinent and southeast Asia showing a positive population growth rate, it is clear that the crisis is already here. Driven by a declining reproduction rate and lifestyle changes, humans have already designed themselves to be erased from the blue planet in less than a century.

As the smartest and greatest presidents try to build walls to keep humans out, the prime ministers of the largest and greatest democracies shun those who are not their religious kind, companies fire employees and replace them with “AI,” the autocrats throw bombs to kill as many as they can, it is instructive to think that there may not be many people remaining in a few decades. As the populations decline, the mad infrastructure builders of roads, rails, airports and electric vehicle charging, may find that they do not have any customers.

As the White, Brown, Yellow and Black fight against each other with no understanding of the human DNA, as the wealthy try to fortify their positions, as the men tower over the other gender, as the dumb policy makers try to fix the “fiscal problem,” it is instructive to think that there may not be anybody around to claim social security and Medicare. As the smart forecasters in great companies project the need for more airplanes, automobiles and oil wells, it is instructive to think that none of these things may be needed in the future.

Humans, as usual, have missed the big picture, yet again.

(1) China’s population drops for second year, with record low birth rate | Reuters