I think there is a difference. Back in the 1970s, when the populations of Africa, South Asia, and China were exploding, and with the world population doubling in the space of a couple of decades, there was indeed a "bomb" in the works. But something (I know not what) appears to have defused it in the new century. Not only have the birth rates in the "developed" world plummeted to below replacement levels, but those in the so-called Third World have plateaued as well. Some countries, such as Russia and Japan, actually face the opposite problem now, with populations on the path to halving themselves over the next generation.
I think the best way to answer that question is "There was, but it appears to have fizzled."
ReplyDelete... which seems rather indistinguishable from "There wasn't/isn't one?"
ReplyDeleteI think there is a difference. Back in the 1970s, when the populations of Africa, South Asia, and China were exploding, and with the world population doubling in the space of a couple of decades, there was indeed a "bomb" in the works. But something (I know not what) appears to have defused it in the new century. Not only have the birth rates in the "developed" world plummeted to below replacement levels, but those in the so-called Third World have plateaued as well. Some countries, such as Russia and Japan, actually face the opposite problem now, with populations on the path to halving themselves over the next generation.
ReplyDeleteone thing happened in 1972.
ReplyDelete