Great letter-exchange on the population problem over the weekend, thank you. Roger Handford told how improved education and family health reduces population growth; Lara Meyer added the factor of contraception. This general effect is known as the demographic transition, neatly phrased by Sir David Attenborough as “Peak Human”. It’s well advanced in Japan, hitting China, and coming everywhere.
The transition should be welcomed by all countries; not fought by those, like our nearest neighbour, locked in the orthodox mindset of competitive over-trading, and hence trying greedily to increase their numbers. (Humane immigration is a different matter, both enriching the host country culturally and relieving the poverty that drives excess fertility.)
As with countries at large, so with individuals. It’s well proven that having a low life expectancy leads to all sorts of socially damaging and self-harming behaviour, from crime to poor nutrition, addiction, and even teenage pregnancies. This explains the all-too-common poor image of the poor, called ne’er-do-wells by some people, instead of could-do-wells. Knowing this, and the converse, that having hope builds good prospects, we see that hope becomes a duty, instead of — well, just hope. As Bob Hughes said, let’s not panic. It’s not doom and gloom, but dream and gleam.
Someone recently called the Green Party’s plan to end poverty “natalist”, as if helping families would spark off a frenzy of reproduction. Is this what the confusing Rolly Hay is saying? It’s really anti-natalist, as explained above. In the fuss over Domestic Purposes Benefit in the 1990s, the research found no causal link between a higher benefit and higher solo parent numbers.
After Peak Oil and Peak Stuff, Peak Human is the ultimate component of degrowth, which means of course regrowth — of biodiversity, and hence the health and spirit of humanity. Compared to consumption, which can be cut down very fast when we can be bothered, it’s on a slow fuse, which should be lit now by talking about it, and removing needless cultural and economic pressures to have children.
