Can someone please tell me why I should take all of these "Europe will go to hell in a handbasket in fifteen years because they're not reproducing at a rate that will support their welfare governments, etc." demographic projections seriously?
Perhaps I should rephrase that. I know why I should take it seriously. I don't need a lecture about battling Islamofascism in the Netherlands and the death of Theo Van Gogh and how his murderer was actually a Dutch-born muslim, and that's the best example we've got of Europe's problem, etc., thank you ever so much. I don't need that explained.
Here's what I would like explained: After a lifetime of having to listen to how we human beings were going to overpopulate the planet, using up all the natural resources, and pretty much leaving the Earth as one big cesspool of toxic slime because we couldn't stop ourselves from making babies, I now have to listen to the absolute reverse. Why on Earth am I supposed to believe these new population numbers that foretell the doom of a white, Christian Europe, when the worldwide overpopulation that was widely predicted and hyped to be our doom never happened?
You can understand why I'm skeptical, right? Who am I supposed to believe?
Posted by Kathy at January 25, 2006 11:16 PM | TrackBackOne good reason is that a society failing to reproduce itself above its current population level has never happened before in the history of the modern welfare state. And the basic math suggests the two - welfare state and shrinking population - can't coexist for long.
Another is that the "overpopulation" stuff has been proved wrong repeatedly because human capacity for overcoming shortages via innovation has exceeded the expecations of those who assumed the opposite. But this time we're talking about reducing the number of humans - ergo, reduced human capacity to figure stuff out.
As for whom your supposed to believe, I'm truly unfamilar with anyone who denies the above. All I see are people quibbling about the actual date it all falls apart unless some hypothetical change occurs.
Posted by: Doug at January 25, 2006 11:58 PM