We look at the past, we look at the future, and think these things actually exist. Variables have changed from the past, and they change in the future. That's why saying going back to this(whether it's hunter/gatherer lifestyles, 1990 emissions, or the economy of 1950's America, etc), or trying to predict what's going to happening 5 years from now, let alone 50, is somewhat pointless. All that matters is right now. 7+ billion people exist on the planet today, therefore, all we know, is that right now, 7+ billion people is sustainable today.
However, if we do live on a finite planet, it comes at a cost. That cost can take many different forms. It can be other species not existing. It can be human beings having to adapt mentally, emotionally, and physically, to that many people. Some will do that, some won't. It doesn't always go the way you want either. Nor can we control everything, which is why human society tries to simplify as much of life as we can. It's a complex and dynamic equation. When we hit this or that limit, that's when people react differently. We come up with some solutions that help more people, and at the same time we 'll come up with solutions that hurt more people, so we end up basically where we were, just in a different context. That's the cycle we do over and over again, because we can't escape it.
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