---
title: "What happens if — society"
description: "12 what-if questions in the society category, each labelled by how confident the answer actually is."
url: https://atoneplace.net/what-happens-if/society/
site: "At One Place"
---

# Society

12 questions in the society category.

| Question | Answer | Confidence |
| --- | --- | --- |
| What would happen if everyone stopped having children? | Schools would empty within a decade, the workforce would begin shrinking in about twenty years, and the last human would die in roughly a century. | Reasoned extrapolation |
| What would happen if everyone stopped eating meat? | A large drop in agricultural emissions and land use, offset by disruption to a billion livelihoods and some regions with no alternative. | Reasoned extrapolation |
| What would happen if antibiotics stopped working? | Routine surgery, chemotherapy and childbirth would all become far more dangerous — this is already happening slowly. | Reasoned extrapolation |
| What would happen if all jobs were automated? | The production problem would be solved and the distribution problem would not — nobody has demonstrated the second half. | Speculative |
| What would happen if half the world's population disappeared? | Not abundance — the collapse of specialised supply chains, because modern systems need specific people rather than a certain number of them. | Speculative |
| What would happen if the world's population doubled overnight? | Food is the binding constraint — global production feeds around 8 billion, and doubling demand cannot be met from existing stocks. | Reasoned extrapolation |
| What would happen if everyone lived to 150? | It depends entirely on whether those are healthy years — extended lifespan without extended healthspan makes almost everything worse. | Speculative |
| What would happen if everyone worked a four-day week? | Trials generally show output holding steady with better wellbeing — but the results come from office work, not from hospitals or factories. | Reasoned extrapolation |
| What would happen if everyone drove an electric car? | Urban air quality would improve immediately; the grid would need roughly a quarter more electricity, and mining demand would rise sharply. | Reasoned extrapolation |
| What would happen if everyone spoke the same language? | Trade and science would get modestly easier, and roughly seven thousand languages worth of knowledge would be lost. | Speculative |
| What would happen if nobody paid taxes? | Everything funded collectively stops — roads, courts, defence, schools, health systems and pensions — within weeks to months. | Reasoned extrapolation |
| What would happen if all borders opened? | Economic models suggest a very large rise in global output, and nobody can model the political response, which is the part that would decide it. | Speculative |

- [What would happen if everyone stopped having children?](https://atoneplace.net/what-happens-if/everyone-stopped-having-children/) — Schools would empty within a decade, the workforce would begin shrinking in about twenty years, and the last human would die in roughly a century.
- [What would happen if everyone stopped eating meat?](https://atoneplace.net/what-happens-if/everyone-went-vegetarian/) — A large drop in agricultural emissions and land use, offset by disruption to a billion livelihoods and some regions with no alternative.
- [What would happen if antibiotics stopped working?](https://atoneplace.net/what-happens-if/antibiotics-stopped-working/) — Routine surgery, chemotherapy and childbirth would all become far more dangerous — this is already happening slowly.
- [What would happen if all jobs were automated?](https://atoneplace.net/what-happens-if/all-jobs-were-automated/) — The production problem would be solved and the distribution problem would not — nobody has demonstrated the second half.
- [What would happen if half the world's population disappeared?](https://atoneplace.net/what-happens-if/half-the-population-disappeared/) — Not abundance — the collapse of specialised supply chains, because modern systems need specific people rather than a certain number of them.
- [What would happen if the world's population doubled overnight?](https://atoneplace.net/what-happens-if/the-population-doubled/) — Food is the binding constraint — global production feeds around 8 billion, and doubling demand cannot be met from existing stocks.
- [What would happen if everyone lived to 150?](https://atoneplace.net/what-happens-if/everyone-lived-to-150/) — It depends entirely on whether those are healthy years — extended lifespan without extended healthspan makes almost everything worse.
- [What would happen if everyone worked a four-day week?](https://atoneplace.net/what-happens-if/everyone-worked-four-days/) — Trials generally show output holding steady with better wellbeing — but the results come from office work, not from hospitals or factories.
- [What would happen if everyone drove an electric car?](https://atoneplace.net/what-happens-if/everyone-drove-electric/) — Urban air quality would improve immediately; the grid would need roughly a quarter more electricity, and mining demand would rise sharply.
- [What would happen if everyone spoke the same language?](https://atoneplace.net/what-happens-if/everyone-spoke-one-language/) — Trade and science would get modestly easier, and roughly seven thousand languages worth of knowledge would be lost.
- [What would happen if nobody paid taxes?](https://atoneplace.net/what-happens-if/nobody-paid-taxes/) — Everything funded collectively stops — roads, courts, defence, schools, health systems and pensions — within weeks to months.
- [What would happen if all borders opened?](https://atoneplace.net/what-happens-if/all-borders-opened/) — Economic models suggest a very large rise in global output, and nobody can model the political response, which is the part that would decide it.