During 1960s, fears of planetary ‘overpopulation’ became widespread. And yet, in more recent years, an altogether different worry has emerged: future population decline. Fertility rates have fallen for decades - and in some places centuries - as humans live in cities, gender equality improves and access to birth control becomes widespread. But, according to some, if they fall too far, and too fast, the basis of the modern welfare state is in jeopardy - not to mention our entire economic order. Could falling birth rates, combined with increased life expectancy, even if not universal, really be as big a challenge in the 21st century as climate breakdown and runaway inequality? Or is this just another moral panic with no basis in fact?
To discuss all of that Aaron Bastani is joined by Dr Paul Morland, a demographer whose latest book is titled “No One Left”. Dr Morland’s previous books include “The Human Tide” and “Tomorrow’s People: The Future of Humanity in Ten Numbers.
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