Note: I didn’t write this essay, nor do I own the blog where it came from. I’m just sharing it. The essay text is displayed below this line.
Modernity has a strange paradox. During a time of great abundance, when most children live to adulthood, fertility has fallen well below replacement.
Abundance normally causes population growth. After a forest fire, light-loving plants have a population explosion, because light is abundant. On a fresh plate of agar jelly, bacteria multiply rapidly. When it rains in the desert, flowers bloom. If you feed the geese in the local park, their numbers increase. Nature abhors an under-utilized resource. Abundance causes populations to increase until scarcity returns. That feedback loop controls populations.
Abundance causes population growth, because organisms are reproducing machines. Their forms were selected to have the effect of reproduction. All types of life have the capacity to increase in number, by excess (above-replacement) reproduction. Populations are limited by premature death, not by voluntary low fertility. Given abundant resources, every type of life reproduces to excess.
Except, apparently, human beings in modern civilization.
In recent history, humans did reproduce to excess. The human population exploded during the last few hundred years, especially during the 20th century. The population explosion was due to modern civilization, which reduced childhood mortality. For most of human history, the population was controlled by war, disease and famine. Modern civilization reduced those causes of premature death. Today, most children live to adulthood, even in developing countries. So, the human population exploded. It is still growing today, by roughly 80 million people per year.
The Paradox of Low Fertility
Link post
Note: I didn’t write this essay, nor do I own the blog where it came from. I’m just sharing it. The essay text is displayed below this line.
Modernity has a strange paradox. During a time of great abundance, when most children live to adulthood, fertility has fallen well below replacement.
Abundance normally causes population growth. After a forest fire, light-loving plants have a population explosion, because light is abundant. On a fresh plate of agar jelly, bacteria multiply rapidly. When it rains in the desert, flowers bloom. If you feed the geese in the local park, their numbers increase. Nature abhors an under-utilized resource. Abundance causes populations to increase until scarcity returns. That feedback loop controls populations.
Abundance causes population growth, because organisms are reproducing machines. Their forms were selected to have the effect of reproduction. All types of life have the capacity to increase in number, by excess (above-replacement) reproduction. Populations are limited by premature death, not by voluntary low fertility. Given abundant resources, every type of life reproduces to excess.
Except, apparently, human beings in modern civilization.
In recent history, humans did reproduce to excess. The human population exploded during the last few hundred years, especially during the 20th century. The population explosion was due to modern civilization, which reduced childhood mortality. For most of human history, the population was controlled by war, disease and famine. Modern civilization reduced those causes of premature death. Today, most children live to adulthood, even in developing countries. So, the human population exploded. It is still growing today, by roughly 80 million people per year.
(see the rest of the post in the link)