Population Decline

It’s interesting to come to an understanding that the world’s population will eventually start declining for the first time since the earth was created. I never considered this to be a problem because I personally come from a large family. My fraternal grandfather and grandmother each had 10 and 11 siblings. My mother in turn had 7 sisters and 2 brothers, but now that I think of it, each of those siblings only had 5 or 6 children at the most. I come from a family of 5 and have noticed that each generation really has reduced the number of children they’ve had. We have grown up in a different culture then the rest of the world because of our religion. We are taught to multiply and replenish the earth, and that the “family is central to the creators plan for the eternal destiny of his children.” (The Family: A Proclamation to the World) After I watched the Demographic Winter, I understand why it is so important to have children to replace generations that are passing away. I learned that the fertility rate needs to be at least 2.3% to sustain a population and I was surprised that this percentage is so low in most countries throughout the world.

When I consider having my own family, it’s nice to be taught at a young age where family is the most important thing. It’s not a new concept to want to have children. I will be more inclined to have a few more children then the word population is having, and I have learned that education is so important. As the innovators and professionals of the world retire, it’s so important to replace them with other qualified workers who can invent and create new ways to do work faster, be more reductive, and produce more with less.

Recently, my grandfather got Alzheimer’s Disease. The amount of care and medical attention that he had to receive for the last 6 years of his life was extensive. He always had to have at least 2 people to help feed, bathe, lift, and care for him. It never occurred to me at the time that if the population continues to decrease, there will be a greater number of elderly people that need medical care than there are people to care for them. This not only requires man power but is extremely expensive. There just won’t be enough people in the work force to give them individual care and attention.

When I turned 16 and got my first job, I was annoyed to see the amount of money the government took out for social security. I guess I really didn’t understand what that meant at the time, and I kind of assumed that the amount of money I put in, would be the same amount I would be able to get back when I retire. I’m just starting to understand how this works. It’s a pay it forward type of a system and the money I put in today to the social security system goes towards the care my grandparents need. It’s concerning to understand that when I get to that same retirement age, there will not be enough young people contributing to the social security system to support my needs when I’m in retirement. In other words, the system will be bankrupt in the next few generations and it’s all because of the decrease in fertility rate, which in turn will eventually lead to a decrease in population rate.

In conclusion, human capital is vital to keep the world thriving. Declining fertility rates around the world are already starting to cause problems in many countries. As the world population also declines, future generations will be facing economic challenges that may change civilization as we know it.