“For the first time since the Black Death in the 1300s, the world is heading into an era of depopulation,” Nicholas Eberstadt wrote in 2024. Governments are trying all kinds of policies to reverse plummeting birth rates. Last month, for example, U.S. President Donald Trump announced he would offer discounted fertility drugs through a government website, TrumpRx, as part of a plan to entice Americans to have more babies. But Eberstadt warned that such efforts will not stave off the demographic changes to come. If you’re looking for something to read over the holiday weekend, I highly recommend his thought-provoking essay on how this transformation “will recast societies, economies, and power politics”—and what countries will need to do to adapt.
Until next week, |
