I absolutely agree with you. 100%.

The problem is how we can make this transition from a large population to a smaller one with as little suffering as possible.

As I said, here we are expected to work into our 70s on average already, which just will not be possible. At some point there won't be enough resources to care for those who can't produce. We need a substantial increase in productivity per individual for society to keep working while the population numbers are decreasing, and that doesn't seem to be happening.