Die Schweiz wird den Vorschlag, die Bevölkerungszahl auf zehn Millionen zu begrenzen, voraussichtlich ablehnen

55% to 45% is too close for comfort. The article says there is a French-German divide (German more likely to vote yes), urban-rural and educational.

Thank God for them because that’s one stupid ass idea.

Why are people so against it? It will be good to know what will happen if they implement that, and if it fails, just don’t repeat that after them.

The Swiss are right about that. If too many people live in a small area, especially one that’s 90% mountains, that’s not necessarily good, but having too few people isn’t good either, because then labor shortages arise. Take Hungary, for example, which is the opposite: there are too few people, and we could easily support at least 17 million people, but our population is declining and could fall below 7 million by 2050. It would be important to find that balance where there aren’t too few but also not too many people living in a country. Because there is a difference between Iceland and Hungary: while one has a population of 400,000 and the other 9.5 million, their land areas are roughly the same.
By the way, the Swiss are right, because this is a fairly prosperous country, and it’s better to have a smaller population and maintain that prosperity than to have a larger population and see the standard of living decline.

What’s even more interesting is that, as of right now, even a majority of cantons will reject this proposal. This means that even rural areas have not voted overwhelmingly in favor of it. I mean if rural and conservative contons like ZG, LU and SH vote against you, you know you are not doing too well.

Isn’t increasing population size the easiest way to expand economy and increase GDP?

How do you cap population at 10m. Do a logans run?

this is amazing! immigration will continue forever, the diversity and the food will be incredible!

Controversial opinion:

Globalism means the metaphorical flattening of cultures and languages, and the demographic flattening of populations. This is just the new state of affairs in the world. It’s irreversible. English is *THE* international language. I now live in Vienna, and I have lived and worked in eight countries. English is the first second language of nearly every (non-native English speaking) immigrant here, which compose about half the population of the city (1st and 2nd-gen immigrants). Vienna is not an Austrian city. Rather, it is a global city. My high school students (from all over the world) don’t listen to their national music. They mostly listen to British and American artists. They consume garbage American foods like Monster Energy and Twix. Languages like Catalan and Welsh are disappearing. 37% of people living in Wales do not identify as „Welsh“. The Swedish group ABBA, like almost all international music groups, produce most songs in English.

ODTÜ, the top techincal university in Turkey, uses English instruction for nearly every course. The international language of science, medicine, and academics is English.

Austria used to have hundreds of German dialects, all tucked-away in valleys separated by mountains. Most of those dialects are disappearing, replaced by standard German, which will in effect be replaced by English in a few generations. When a right-wing Austrian talks about national identity, I’m not sure what they mean, because Austria has only existed since 1955. Up until 1918, „Austria“ included Hungary, Czechia, etc.

We live in a globalized world where migration is becoming an irreversible norm. National economies are inextricably dependent on the economies of other nations. The 2008 US financial crisis rocked economies world-wide. 36 bankers and CEOs in Iceland went to jail for buying MBS products from the US. China and the US will never fight a war because they are each others‘ biggest trading partners. The 3rd Reich was the last time that any country attempted to implement autarky — total economic independence. In practice, that meant invading eastern Europe to get access to resources like wheat, oil, and manganese.

If Switzerland wants to exit the international globalized order, they are free to do so. But that should mean expatriating all foreign-owned bank accounts and assets. De-listing Swiss companies from foreign stock exchanges. Building a wall around the country and making everyone get visas to enter or exit. Gone will be the days when you can live in France, and drive to Geneva for work at the UN. I have colleagues who live in Czechia and Bratislava and commute to Vienna for work. Imagine that in 1985: Crossing the Iron Curtain daily to work in the „West“.

Most Europeans won’t say it out loud, but a unitary federalized Europe is almost inevitable. „Germany“ was a mess of 30+ independent states until 1871. „Italy“ was like 8 independent states until 1861. That consolidation process continues. Little Estonia can try to negotiate a trade deal with China, but they’re in a much better position if they have 450 million EU citizens backing them up, rather than 1.4 million Estonians.

And the definition of „Europe“ has been expanding slowly over the decades. „Europe“ use to end at the eastern borders of West Germany and Austria, for example. But now it extends all the way to the Russian border. Apparently Israel is European because they participate in the Eurovision song contest. If Greece is considered European, then Turkey ought to be as well, given that the Ottomans occupied Greece for almost 400 years. France tried and failed multiple times to include major parts of Africa in Europe. They still have Tahiti and French Guiana in South America. French Guiana’s currency is the Euro. Tahitians are French citizens. Britain is kinda dragging its ass allowing former „British“ citizens from Hong Kong to live in their nation/empire of birth, the UK/Britain. Canada does indeed share a land border with Denmark. Look it up. Why shouldn’t Canada join the EU?

„Germany“ was a mess of 30+ independent states until 1871. „Italy“ was like 8 independent states until 1861. That process continues. To be a citizen in any EU country means you can work and live in any EU country, which means the EU is effectively one country. Non-French EU citizens living in France can vote in some French elections. That would sound insane to any Frenchie born more than 50 years ago. Within one or two generations, the EU will become some variation of the United States of Europe.

Switzerland wants to have it both ways, to be „Swiss“, but also be „European“. They can be one, or the other, but both only in a rhetorical sense. The logical implication is, of course, that „Europe“ will be cease to be Europe in a few more generations.

Thank god