Posted on 04/19/2009 7:17:10 AM PDT by TigerLikesRooster
Depopulation Threatens Russia 10 Ways, Moscow Demographer Says
17 April 2009
By Paul Goble / Special to The Moscow Times
Russia’s population will continue to decline over the coming decades, threatening first some regions and then the country as a whole with depopulation, a trend whose consequences are both more immediate and more widespread than many now assume, according to a leading Moscow demographer.
In an article titled “The Social Consequences of the Depopulation of Russia,” Olga Lebed of Moscow State University argues that “the demographic situation that has arisen in Russia over the course of recent decades has achieved such a critical point that it is impossible not to pay attention to it."
At present, even with immigration, the population of the Russian Federation is declining by almost a million people a year, she writes, and consequently it is time to pay close attention not just to the overall figure but to the specific consequences of the depopulation of the country. Lebed points to what she says are the ten most important consequences of this trend.
First, along with the overall decline, differences in birthrates and survival rates among the indigenous ethnic groups of the country and among immigrant populations mean that depopulation will be accompanied by “a change in the nationality composition of Russia,” with the titular nationality forming an ever smaller share.
Second, depopulation will threaten the foundations of the preservation of the titular nationality's “self-consciousness” and entail “the loss of national traditions,” especially if, as seems likely, the majority nationality by the middle of this century will be a nation other than the Russians.
Third, she writes, depopulation will threaten the ability of the country to maintain its territorial integrity and the well-being of the population. Russia is already one of the least densely populated countries on earth, and it will soon lack the numbers of people needed to hold its current borders if they are challenged within or without.
Fourth, the country will face an increasing shortage of workers, a trend that will make it ever more difficult for the population to maintain its standard of living and force the government to withdraw support from the kinds of projects that could reverse this and other dangerous demographic developments.
Fifth, assuming that depopulation is combined with an aging population, the drop will mean that every remaining worker will have to carry a greater burden in order to support the non-working segment of the population. Besides sparking inter-generational tensions, this will depress the standard of living of most residents, with all the political consequences thereof.
Sixth, the depopulation of Russia is likely to be accompanied by a further exacerbation of the gender imbalance within the population. Not only will that make it more difficult for Russian firms to find men to do certain jobs, but it will mean that many women will find it difficult to find husbands. Both trends will force changes in gender roles, some welcome, others not.
Seventh, current depopulation trends increase the likelihood that ever more parents will outlive their children, something that will entail not only economic consequences but social and political ones that many believe will contribute to the atomization of society and any number of other problems as well.
Eighth, that in turn will lead, Lebed says, to “the replacement of family relations by social ones,” with the family becoming ever less important as a socializing factor and other groups and institutions rather more. While that trend is already in evidence, she argues, depopulation will make it far more severe.
Ninth, she continues, the problems of socialization brought on by depopulation will lead to more mental illness, more anti-social behavior, and the need for more institutions to cope with societal breakdown, including but not limited to crisis intervention centers, more psychologists and psychiatrists, and so on.
And tenth, she concludes, the depopulation of Russia is likely to produce a variety of demands, not now in evidence, to engage in such “fantastic” population-boosting measures as state-supported “incubator” children, “hybridization of embryos,” cloning and greater efforts to extend life spans and working lives.
Not all experts would agree with Lebed on this list, but many do — she cites numerous authorities in her 3,000-word article — and consequently, her list is useful as a way of going beyond the crude numbers concerning the current and what will in the future become an accelerating decline in the population, to the consequences of that decline for all concerned.
Interesting to consider this article in context of our problems with Islam, or the Taliban in particular.
In addition (obviously) to religion, the big conflict is between western notions of individualism versus their concept of tribalism.
For the Taliban, the tribe is the ‘organism’, not the individual — not unlike a bee having a unique existence but the real ‘organism’ is the hive.
Tribalism’s rules about banning intermarrying, subjugating women, marrying early, polygamy, etc, evolved to protect the population level and the social purity of the tribe.
Obviously, we have moved beyond that, but in the process — the new problem is - certain attitudes that have replaced tribalism, that are causing populations to drop.
Humorous that when I was a freshman in college, my biology textbook was “The Population Bomb” by Paul Ehrlich. “World population to outgrow food resources by 1980!!” and the like.
Never has someone ever been so spectacularly wrong about the world and what makes it work.
Now the Paul Ehrlich spawn — the global warming crowd - intends to fulfill Ehrlich’s wishes. They are HAPPY about the depopulation levels, as it reduces our carbon footprint, etc.
So it goes...
It has already happened, siberia is almost completely chinese and growing.
Anyone ever read Arthur C. Clarke’s “Odyssey “ series (2001, 2010, 2065 and 3001)? It kind of reminds me of what’s happening to Earth (2065 book).
“Russia needs to get rid of abortion, re-enforce religious views, and stress the patriotic need for large families. They will turn this around in time.”
Bingo. You hit the nail on the head.
This is why the future of America is assured. We patriotic, pro-life conservatives are having waaaayyyyy more kids than the life-hating libs. Soon libs will be nothing more than a curiosity that our many Christian children and grandchildren will occasionally ask about.
unless they are snatched from our influence by those libs in the government school systems...
Lots of "gaiety" coming to China soon.
There are several studies on this, one is in Public Policy & Aging Report by Mark L. Haas:
For example, Russia’s working-age population (ages 15 to 64) is expected to shrink 34 percent by 2050. The country’s population is already decreasing by 700,000 people per year. Also by 2050, China’s median age is predicted to be nearly 45. Given this fact, Haas believes their government will be faced with a difficult choice: allow growing levels of poverty within an exploding elderly population, or provide the resources necessary to combat this problem by diverting funds from military spending.
The United States is not immune to the problems of global aging, but it does stand to fare better than many of its rivals. In 2050, this country’s median age will be the lowest of any of the great powers. And by the same year, the working-age population in the U.S. is expected to increase by 31 percent. Additionally, the United States has a relatively well-funded pension system.
http://www.scienceagogo.com/news/20080024194254data_trunc_sys.shtml
Drunken Nation: Russia’s Depopulation Bomb
Nicholas Eberstadt
http://www.worldaffairsjournal.org/2009%20-%20Spring/full-Eberstadt.html
Spengler, aka David P Goldman, wrote an analysis http://www.atimes.com/atimes/Central_Asia/JH19Ag04.html
Too many nukes their to simply wish it to plummet into anarchy OR neo-colonialism.
Mexico’s population is NOT exploding. The birthrate has plummeted from 6 children per woman in the early 1960s to 2.2 today.
not with a bang, but a whimper.
Russia’s envoy to NATO calls Georgian drills “insanity”
RIA Novosti | 04/18/09
Posted on 04/19/2009 4:05:06 AM PDT by TigerLikesRooster
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2232679/posts
Whoops! Thanks AdmSmith.
Yeah but Russia has a much higher percentage of women to men.
The men have a tendency to drink themselves to death.
If the Chinese men were to present themselves as sober, hardworking men seeking a wife then the problem would resolve it's self, theoretically.
In reality both sides tend to be rather racist and even beyond that there is a huge cultural divide that would make the solution unlikely.
Sigh, since I've only received intelligent responses like yours, the liberals didn't rise to the bait.
Be well!
Sigh, since I've only received intelligent responses like yours, the liberals didn't rise to the bait.
Be well!
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