It already has.
No. It's cold, calculated, deliberate Malthusianism. Just like I tried warning people about on SB, a whole decade ago. I said, over and over again, if things continue as they are, AI automation and the information economy will take over, world leaders will push for net-zero (which would have the same effect on the economy as peak oil if there is no other energy tech available to replace it), useless eaters will be culled, and the survivors will be herded into modern-day feudal city-states. It's a matter of national security.
What happens if there is sustained economic contraction and austerity for years and years and the bread and circuses go away, because of all this net-zero bullshit? With the current population numbers, we invariably get Mad Max. That's not avoidable. When fuel supplies are interrupted and the economy and agriculture are all dependent on fragile just-in-time logistics, a bad year can mean millions starve. When forced to choose between resource wars and warlords running around looting Walmarts, or killing off the excess population made obsolete by automation, they picked the obvious answer.
If people's only response to this is, "But our government would never do this to us!", then they're in for a nasty surprise.