I actually think the 500 million was in reference to the U.S. population.
Really? Here’s what the stones read:
MAINTAIN HUMANITY UNDER 500,000,000
IN PERPETUAL BALANCE WITH NATURE
GUIDE REPRODUCTION WISELY —
IMPROVING FITNESS AND DIVERSITY
UNITE HUMANITY WITH A LIVING
NEW LANGUAGE
RULE PASSION — FAITH — TRADITION
AND ALL THINGS
WITH TEMPERED REASON
PROTECT PEOPLE AND NATIONS
WITH FAIR LAWS AND JUST COURTS
LET ALL NATIONS RULE INTERNALLY
RESOLVING EXTERNAL DISPUTES
IN A WORLD COURT
AVOID PETTY LAWS AND USELESS
OFFICIALS
BALANCE PERSONAL RIGHTS WITH
SOCIAL DUTIES.
PRIZE TRUTH — BEAUTY — LOVE —
SEEKING HARMONY WITH THE
INFINITE
BE NOT A CANCER ON THE EARTH —
LEAVE ROOM FOR NATURE —
LEAVE ROOM FOR NATURE
It doesn’t say, “Maintain the US population under 500000000”. It says “Maintain HUMANITY under 500000000”. It doesn’t say “Be not a cancer upon the US”. It says, “Be not a cancer on the Earth”. If it is just for the US then why is the text printed in Swahili, Babylonian, Egyptian, and Sanskrit?
Is it goofy? Yes. Was it an ambitious, expensive undertaking? Undoubtedly. Each of the four main stones weighs over 20 tons. Someone spent a lot of tine and money on this thing, and they don’t want you to know who they are.