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Is humanity running out of people? And what does this mean for the future of prosperity, freedom, and global power? Demographer and American Enterprise Institute scholar Nicholas Eberstadt joins Peter Robinson to explain why birthrates are collapsing across the globe—from China and Japan to Europe and the United States—and what this means for the future of prosperity, freedom, and global power. Can immigration save America? Will Africa remain the great exception? And is there any way to reverse the “baby bust”? Nick Eberstadt answers them in this episode.
Recorded on May 21st, 2025.
Discussion (2)
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I really enjoyed this conversation. A few thoughts and questions, in no particular order:
What of Latin/South America? There was in-depth analysis of Asia, Africa, Europe, and the United States but no real mention of our neighbors to the south.
How does the physical toll of childbirth factor into women's decisions to have fewer children? It seems obvious that many women wouldn't want to be pregnant, giving birth, breast-feeding, and/or chasing toddlers all the time, given the option not to. (Cokie Roberts describes the wives of the founding generation in her 2008 book Ladies of Liberty as being "eternally pregnant".)
Maybe the climate alarmists will stop worrying about global warming now that the people are disappearing. (Ha!)
It's not clear to me why we should want more people - this wasn't specifically explained. It was just assumed that more is better, but I'm unconvinced. Why is infinite population growth a good thing?
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I don't know that infinite population growth is what Everstadt wants - and we probably can't get at this point. I think he wishes that there was at least a steady state of population. As he said, we still have a lot of people on earth for many years to come. Yes child bearing and then taking care of small children's physical needs is tiring. I see my son and d-i-l going through this right now. Again I don't think we have to go back to the days of perpetual pregnancy. But having children and families make us better through the sacrifice. I agree with Everstadt that the loss of families and kids and a sense of our part in humanity are the scariest parts of the depopulation. He did mention Latin America as being on the same demographic decline. Agree completely Charlotte that this was a great discussion. I pretty much always get a lot out of Uncommon Knowledge. Appreciate the discussion and your comment.