Thanos’ plan, as depicted in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, was to eliminate half of all life in the universe with a single snap of his fingers, using the power of the Infinity Gauntlet. His intention was to instantly reduce the population to make resources more abundant for the remaining inhabitants, based on his belief that overpopulation leads to scarcity, suffering, and eventual extinction of societies. Thanos viewed this as a form of mercy, ensuring that surviving civilizations would thrive without the pressure of finite resources.
There is no explicit indication in the films that Thanos accounted for the emotional and psychological impact on survivors leading to reduced reproduction as part of his plan. Instead, his approach was grounded in a cold calculus that focused on immediate resource availability following the drastic decrease in population. The suggestion that survivors would naturally feel depressed and thus reduce birth rates significantly does not appear to be a deliberate part of his scheme. Consequently, Thanos assumed that halving the population would sustainably balance consumption with resource availability, at least temporarily, without considering the long-term sociological and psychological consequences on reproduction and community dynamics.
