The human population has tripled since 1950, and it is estimated that it will reach 10 billion within the next 40 years. Is this population growth compatible with preservation of the biosphere and human existence itself?

Les U. Knight (1947, USA) doesn’t think so – as suggested by the name of the movement he founded: VHEMT – Voluntary Human Extinction Movement. He states that the future of the planet and of humanity will not be very auspicious if we continue to encourage procreation. In this conversation, moderated by Vânia Rodrigues, coordinator of management and programming of the mala voadora theatre company, Les U. Knight will argue that continued population growth has become a disadvantage that our cultural conditioning prevents us from recognizing. We have been taught that creating other human beings is always worthy of celebration. Are we then in denial about what it means to have children today? The idea of our species ceasing to exist in the future is simply unthinkable, but we will be willing to accept the extinction of tens of thousands of other species?

In collaboration with mala voadora