I've just started reading this book, consequently I can't give it either a poor review or a hearty endorsement, but so far I am finding it interesting fodder for thought. Here are some excerpts from the first two chapters:
So it turns out that the modern, secular view of the world rests profoundly on the perception that the world will grow ever more crowded... Capitalists would wonder how they could make profits in a world of scarce labor and shrinking markets. Liberals would be at a loss to show how the welfare state was sustainable. Environmentalists would be robbed of their powerful projections showing human population exceeding the earth's carrying capacity. Feminists could no longer point to the low fertility of educated women as an obvious benefit to humankind.
...When asked how long it will take for the world's population to double, nearly half of all Americans say 20 years or less... Yet... forecasts by the United Nations and others show the world population growth rate could well turn negative during the lifetime of people now in their 40s and 50s, and is very likely to do so before today's children reach retirement age.
...These predictions come with considerable certainty. The primary reason is the unprecedented fall in fertility rates over the last generation that is now spreading to every corner of the globe.
...The global decline in fertility rates, as profound and well established as the trend may be, is hard to spot simply by observing the fabric of ordinary life... That's because, even in areas where birthrates are dramatically below the levels required to avoid population loss even in the near future, the absolute number of people is often still growing...When fertility falls below replacement levels, the population continues to increase for a while through sheer force of momentum. But this momentum is a dwindling legacy of a past effort when fertility rates were still above replacement levels.
...When asked how long it will take for the world's population to double, nearly half of all Americans say 20 years or less... Yet... forecasts by the United Nations and others show the world population growth rate could well turn negative during the lifetime of people now in their 40s and 50s, and is very likely to do so before today's children reach retirement age.
...These predictions come with considerable certainty. The primary reason is the unprecedented fall in fertility rates over the last generation that is now spreading to every corner of the globe.
...The global decline in fertility rates, as profound and well established as the trend may be, is hard to spot simply by observing the fabric of ordinary life... That's because, even in areas where birthrates are dramatically below the levels required to avoid population loss even in the near future, the absolute number of people is often still growing...When fertility falls below replacement levels, the population continues to increase for a while through sheer force of momentum. But this momentum is a dwindling legacy of a past effort when fertility rates were still above replacement levels.
When people ask my husband why we plan on having such a large family his most used reponse is, "someone has to keep populating us...no else seems to be!" It always makes people slightly giggle but then he explains how he is serious! We are not reproducing like we should be, we are a selfish society too busy for family.
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