One Billion Americans

Matt Yglesias's provocative argument that the U.S. should triple its population through immigration and pro-natalism — to maintain geopolitical primacy relative to China.

Population as geopolitical strategy: Yglesias argues that a country of 1 billion Americans would be far more economically and geopolitically powerful than the current 330 million, and that the obstacles (housing, infrastructure, political will) are policy problems, not fundamental constraints. The book's value is treating population not as fixed demographic fate but as a policy variable. Its provocativeness forced a conversation about whether immigration opponents had thought carefully about what a smaller America means for American power.