It is reassuring to know that you have not forgotten about the concept of economies of scale from your Econ 101 course. You will no doubt be pleased to know that I have for some time also been aware of this economic theory. Indeed, on September 23, 2019 I I posted:
Most of the arguments in favor of large population, or more intelligently of growing population, center on the need to create markets for consumption. In an age in which 3D printing is making us rethink the entire concept of economies of scale, should we not also rethink this maxim?
I am glad you also took note of the effect of globalism on this maxim. The theory that globalism does not affect economies of scale when considered from a national basis, comes a cropper in the real world. To date, much of our industrial production has been sent offshore to places like China and our burgeoning population, that you so welcome, has been converted from a producing society to a consuming society.
A consuming society can last only so long as the music plays. For a variety of reasons the United States has been able to enjoy the fruits of consuming in spite of relatively weak production because we are the world's reserve currency, because we are the world's great superpower, because inflation has been kept in check during the processes of sending jobs offshore and by immigration, reducing wages. The music may even now as we discuss this be stopping by a new refrain called, "coronavirus."
Finally, the comparative economic advantage of a large society really only works while the transition is incomplete as it is in America or when the country is enabled to put off the reckoning by other factors such I have described in the next preceding paragraph. No one contends that globalism is perfect, but its effect on the economies of scale must be reckoned. The solution is not to grow our own population but to perfect our industrial capacity to compete in a global world for that vast offshore consumer economy which outnumbers our consumer economy by a factor of about 20 to 1.
The key to perfecting our industrial capacity is not to add unlettered, un-numeric, immigrants or even to reward fecund American women, the key is to convert our culture and our education establishment to merit-based systems.
To permit our population to continue to double every generation is not to make America stronger but it is to half our liberty, double our misery and darken our destiny.
