Fewer
How the New Demography of Depopulation Will Shape Our Future
Published on 26. August 2004
Book
Hardback
252 pages
978-1-56663-606-3 (ISBN)
Description
Fewer tells a monumental human story, largely ignored, but which promises to starkly change the human condition in the years to come. Never before have birth and fertility rates fallen so far, so fast, so low, for so long, in so many places, so surprisingly. In Fewer, Ben Wattenberg shows how and why this has occurred, and explains what it means for the future. The demographic plunge, he notes, is starkly apparent in the developed nations of Europe and Japan, which will lose about 150 million people in the next half century. Starting from higher levels, but moving with geometric speed, the demographic decline is also apparent in the less developed nations of Asia, Africa, and Latin America. Only the United States (so far) has been exempt from the birth dearth, leaving America as more than "the sole super-power." Perhaps it should be called the global "omni-power." These stark demographic changes will affect commerce, the environment, public financing, and geo-politics. Here Wattenberg lists likely winners and losers. In Wattenberg's world of "The New Demography" readers get a look at a topic often chattered about, but rarely understood.
Reviews / Votes
An engagingly argued look at what happens when we get what we wish for, and Wattenberg is the thinker to write it. * Detroit Free Press * A remarkable book...in terms of its importance for our country and the world. -- Newt Gingrich * The Washington Times * One of the more interesting books of 2004. -- Thomas Bray * Detroit News * He has done his homework...in a breezy and provocative style while providing the data to support his concern. -- Marshall Fishwick, author of Popular Culture: From Cavespace to Cyberspace * The Roanoke Times * Fewer is an extremely informative and provocative book. -- Howard Upton * Tulsa World * This book is the foundation for long-term global econometric and political thinking. * First Principles U.S. * Fewer provides valuable food for thought. -- Tom Baker * Daily Yomiuri * Nimble narrative of demographic data. -- Martha Farnsworth Riche * World Watch * Lucidly show[s] how the once-feared population explosion is giving way to a birth dearth. -- Marvin Olasky, editor-in-chief, World News Group * WORLD * This thought-provoking book addresses an important issue and is presented in nontechnical language accessible to a wide spectrum of readers. Highly recommended. -- W. C. Struning * CHOICE * It is important that good minds pay close attention to these changes. This book is a very helpful contribution to that effort. -- Bill Muehlenberg * News Weekly * [He has] gathered the data and usefully corrected widespread and longstanding misrepresentations. -- Eric Cohen, Ethics and Public Policy Center Keeping his statistics comprehensible to the demographic novice, he...skillfully analyzes the economic and social situations that might occur. * Publishers Weekly * Ben Wattenberg has again brought a vital issue to the public policy debate. -- Joseph Chamie, Director, Population Division, DESA, United Nations This fascinating book tells us more than anything yet about why we are Fewer.... I strongly recommend it. -- Jeane Kirkpatrick, former U.S. ambassador to the United Nations and member of Reagan's Cabinet There is no better analyst to guide us through the complex political, social, and economic implications of this development than Ben Wattenberg. -- Francis Fukuyama, author of The End of History and the Last Man Scholarly, readable and compelling. -- Joseph Lieberman, SenatorMore details
Language
English
Place of publication
Chicago
United States
Product notice
Laminated cover
Dimensions
Height: 236 mm
Width: 154 mm
Thickness: 27 mm
Weight
514 gr
ISBN-13
978-1-56663-606-3 (9781566636063)
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Schweitzer Classification
Person
Ben J. Wattenberg is a Senior Fellow at the American Enterprise Institute in Washington, D.C. For the past eleven years he has been the moderator (or "immoderator" as he likes to call himself) of the prize-winning weekly PBS television discussion program Think Tank with Ben Wattenberg. He is the author of ten books, many of which have shaped the public dialogue, including Values Matter Most, The Real Majority (in collaboration with Richard Scammon), The Birth Dearth, and The Good News Is the Bad News Is Wrong. Wattenberg was a member of the U.S. delegation to the 1984 UN World Population Conference, and has participated in population symposia with the United Nations Population Division, the National Academy of Science, the Population Association of America, and the American Association for the Advancement of Science. He has been appointed to foreign policy advisory posts by Presidents Carter, Reagan, George H.W. Bush, and Speaker Thomas Foley. He lives in Washington, D.C. To read more of Mr. Wattenberg's work, visit his blog.