Why demography matters / Danny Dorling, Stuart Gietel-Basten.

By:

Dorling, Daniel [author]

Contributor(s):

Gietel-Basten, Stuart [author]

Material type: Text

TextLanguage: English Publication details: Cambridge ; Medford, MA : Polity Press, 2018.Description: xiii, 258 pages ; illustrations ; 23 cmContent type:

text

Media type:

unmediated

Carrier type:

volume

ISBN:

9780745698403 (hardback)
9780745698410 (pbk.)

Subject(s):

Demography

LOC classification:

HB871 D73 2018

Online resources:

Click here to access online

Contents:

Introduction -- Measuring populations -- Destiny and determination -- Population "explosion" -- Why no children? -- Population ageing -- Population and the global economy -- Population and politics -- Conclusion.

Summary: "Demography is not destiny. As Giacomo Casanova explained over two centuries ago: 'There is no such thing as destiny. We ourselves shape our own lives.' Today we are shaping them and our societies more than ever before. Globally, we have never had fewer children per adult: our population is about to stabilize, though we do not know when or at what number, or what will happen after that. It will be the result of billions of very private decisions influenced in turn by multiple events and policies, some more unpredictable than others. More people are moving further around the world than ever before: we too often see that as frightening, rather than as indicating greater freedom. Similarly, we too often lament greater ageing, rather than recognizing it as a tremendous human achievement with numerous benefits to which we must adapt. Demography comes to the fore most positively when we see that we have choices, when we understand variation and when we are not deterministic in our prescriptions. The study of demography has for too long been dominated by pessimism and inhuman, simplistic accounting. As this fascinating and persuasive overview demonstrates, how we understand our demography needs to change again."--Back cover.

List(s) this item appears in: Print Books 2021

Average rating: 0.0 (0 votes)

Holdings ( 1 )
Title notes ( 4 )

Holdings
Item type	Current library	Collection	Call number	Materials specified	Status	Notes	Date due	Barcode
Books	Ladislao N. Diwa Memorial Library Reserve Section	Non-fiction	RUS HB871 D73 2018 (Browse shelf(Opens below))		Room use only	76909		00076894

Includes bibliographical references (pages 226-246) and index.

"Demography is not destiny. As Giacomo Casanova explained over two centuries ago: 'There is no such thing as destiny. We ourselves shape our own lives.'

Today we are shaping them and our societies more than ever before. Globally, we have never had fewer children per adult: our population is about to stabilize, though we do not know when or at what number, or what will happen after that. It will be the result of billions of very private decisions influenced in turn by multiple events and policies, some more unpredictable than others. More people are moving further around the world than ever before: we too often see that as frightening, rather than as indicating greater freedom. Similarly, we too often lament greater ageing, rather than recognizing it as a tremendous human achievement with numerous benefits to which we must adapt.

Demography comes to the fore most positively when we see that we have choices, when we understand variation and when we are not deterministic in our prescriptions. The study of demography has for too long been dominated by pessimism and inhuman, simplistic accounting. As this fascinating and persuasive overview demonstrates, how we understand our demography needs to change again."--Back cover.

Fund 164 Belview Co., Inc. Purchased 04/25/2019 76909 NEJ PHP 1,420.00 2019-84-299 2019-1-0256