[marquis]

> levels the playing field for newborns

We see the effects of longer, more productive lives already in youth unemployment and property prices. It may not be until the post-boomer generation that we adjust to this. Perhaps there is a historical period where a generation has lived far longer than the few preceding it, from which we can get an idea how society managed?

[sliverstorm]

The historical problem is too many children surviving childhood. The oldest son gets the farm, the youngest gets nothing.

The solutions have been things like:

- subdivide the property (not sustainable)

- The younger son goes to the military, or the frontier, or...

- The younger son courts a daughter in a family with no sons

[mjevans]

There are only three possible outcomes.

- Increase the death rate (war, disease, etc)

- Establish an equilibrium and plan for a given number of living beings, preventing the formation of new ones until there are free resources. (Attempting to defy this will lead to the previous or next outcome.)

- Expand in to new areas to provide more SPACE!

[bryanlarsen]

It's a historical problem, it's already been solved in developing countries. Nothing drastic, just dropping the birth rate below 2.1.

[baddox]

Is giving more inheritance to the oldest child still a thing?