Since Paul Ehrlich’ s book ‘The Population Bomb’(1968) the world had been living in fear of overpopulation and its dire warnings of millions of people dying of starvation as the demands of an ever-increasing number of people would exhaust the earth’s resources. When fertility rates in developed countries dropped below replacement levels concern shifted to the falloff in the number of people of working age and the rise in the ageing population. Demographers aren’t necessarily concerned about smaller populations and shifts in the age structure of societies. Fewer people could mean smaller ecological footprints and demands on the environment, less competition for jobs, higher wages, and could lead to a higher quality of life.
Younger generations around the world are putting their personal needs ahead of the wish for children. Attempts by governments to encourage fertility generally failed. As this article notes, with a few exceptions in Africa, we are faced with the wider conjuncture of worldwide reduction in population, making first birthday parties a rarer sight than funerals.
“Many demographers argue that the current moment may look to future historians like a period of transition or gestation, when humans either did or did not figure out how to make the world more hospitable — enough for people to build the families that they want. Surveys in many countries show that young people would like to be having more children, but face too many obstacles. Anna Parolini tells a common story. She left her small hometown in northern Italy to find better job opportunities […]”
