The world’s population surpassed 8 billion people.

At this landmark demographic moment, it can be tempting to draw the easy conclusion that population dynamics are the root cause of multiple, intersecting challenges facing our world. Some blame dwindling resources and raging confl icts on there being ‘too many’ of us; others fear falling birth rates will leave the planet devoid of people, with ‘too few’ of us to sustain life as we know it.

Are we too many in the world? Or are we too few?

Or are we asking the wrong question?

At this landmark demographic moment, it can be tempting to draw the easy conclusion that population dynamics are the root cause of multiple, intersecting challenges facing our world.

But the truth is, the number of people was never the problem.