|
We should welcome today, with enthusiasm,
Baby number six-billion. We must cut through the hysteria of
"overpopulation" claims to see the truth about
population numbers:
-
A
large share of current population growth derives from longer
lifespans, resting on better diets, improved medical care,
and rising standards-of-living. This is all good news.
-
There
are no significant "resource shortages" in the
world, as the neo-Malthusian claim. Commodity prices,
ranging from grains and meat to most metals, are in fact at
low levels; indeed, there is currently a global food glut.
-
The
real problem facing the 21st Century is
depopulation. In half of the world's nations (and growing),
long term zero- or negative- population growth is already
the reality. In Italy, Spain, Germany, and Japan, for
example, barely half of the children needed simply to
replace the current adult generation are being born. This
accelerating "graying" of populations will bring
serious economic, social, and political dislocations.
-
It
is time to bring an end to the political war against human
fertility. The real challenge now is to encourage larger
families.
|
