I kinda went on a little research spree on economics this afternoon but at one point I figured it’s probably good to know if it’s possible for, say, at least 98% of people on earth to live a happy fulfilled life at all.
I know there’s plenty of people who’d be more than happy to have literally nothing more than a house, food and water, but that still leaves a whole lot of people who want other things in life.
Do we have any metrics or data on wether the earth can sustain roughly 8 billion humans?
No.
First of all, it takes just as much labor to make a product that lasts fifty years as it does to make a product that lasts five years. Most things today are designed to fall apart and be replaced. If we made cars and appliances that lasted, there’d be less demand for new things. A lot of the current economy is designed to be wasteful.
Second, they’ve already detected asteroids that are loaded with all the minerals we’d need. Back at the height of the Veitnam War the US was launching a Gemini mission about six times a year. Getting people up there might take a decade, but the payoff would be worth it.
Finally, OP didn’t say ‘rich’ they said ‘comfortable.’
We do. Cars especially, today, are vastly more efficient, reliable, longer-lived, and safer than cars even 30 years ago. Appliances, too.