6.5 Billion and Counting

J. Matthew Sleeth reviews Allan Carlson’s book, Fractured Generations: Crafting a Family Policy for Twenty-first Century America in his article, “6.5 Billion and Counting” in Books & Culture, March/April 2007, pages 36- 37. He is well aware of the toxic environment cause by too much: too much soot in the air and too many chemicals in the environment, and perhaps, too many people on the planet. Allan Carlson’s book is devoted to family policy issues and gives public policy suggestions in each chapter.

Most of those crying out the loudest, are claiming the major crisis being faced by the world today is overpopulation. Carlson, however, states that the major problem is depopulation, not overpopulation, and he fears that dwindling populations in developed countries will eventually cripple their economies. Sleeth, however, disagrees, saying that immigration from overpopulated countries to developed nations will most likely alleviate any economic problems caused by depopulation.

The major reason for the dramatic increase in population growth is due to the advances in medicine and the prolongation of life. Sleeth has an excellent illustration of the population growth of the world throughout history:

One way of visualizing the rate of population growth is to take all of mankind's history and place it on a 12-month "Big Calendar of History." January 1 stands for the year 8000 BC. Each "day" represents twenty-seven years. December 31 on the Big Calendar of History represents ad 2000. Some important "days" are circled. In July, people start writing, building libraries, and using iron tools. In September, Christ lives, dies, and is resurrected. December 24 is a big day. By now 98 percent of all human history has passed. On this day, the Census Bureau throws a party. Mankind has reached the one billion mark. On the 29th of December, we reach two billion. We add another billion on the 30th, and during the 31st we add a billion in the morning, another billion in the afternoon, and another billion before midnight.


According to Carlson, the main reason for smaller families in Western countries is the rejection of Christian values. He claims that religion is the number one factor in determining birth rates. “Declining birth rates are, in large part, the result of people turning away from Christian virtues like sacrifice, long-term commitment, altruism, and responsibility.” It is difficult to take this kind of reasoning seriously.

Carlson fears that underpopulation is real and that overpopulation is a lie invented by social engineers to advance their agenda. However, overpopulation and underpopulation are occurring at the same time. Underpopulation is a problem for specific countries while overpopulation is a global issue. There is no global shortage of people. There is a global shortage of the things necessary for each and every person on earth to live a full, meaningful life. There might be enough economic resources to support a growing population, but there aren’t enough environmental resources to support a population growing at its present rate.


You can read this article at: http://www.christianitytoday.com/bc/2007/002/8.36.html