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Goodbye to All That: Will Italy and rest of Europe depopulate itself to extinction?
The Dallas Morning News via The Weekly Standard ^ | April 30, 2004 | Terry Eastland

Posted on 04/29/2004 10:18:32 PM PDT by quidnunc

Siena, Italy – In 1348, the Black Death took the lives of 70,000 of this city's 100,000 inhabitants. Siena, whose exquisite art still amazes, never again had a population that large. Today, it numbers just 56,000.

The Black Death was traced to infected rats aboard a merchant ship from the Crimea that stopped in Sicily. The diseases carried by those rats ravaged not only Italy but all of Europe. The loss of life ranged from 12 percent in a city or region to the 70 percent reported in Siena. "No one wept for the dead," wrote a denizen of the devastated city, "because everyone expected death himself."

Today, a visitor to Italy is struck by the fact that demographic destruction is occurring once again, though this time more slowly. There is no Black Death, no communicable disease that the destruction can be blamed on. But the fact is that Italy is depopulating itself, and it is doing so by human choice. Procreation, you could say, is suffering. Simply put, Italians are having very few babies — actually, too few for Italy to survive.

Italy now has the lowest birthrate (1.23 children per woman) in Europe and the second lowest in the world. If Italy's "rate of reproduction continues," London's Sunday Telegraph recently noted, "Italians will slowly but surely die out."

A similar demographic destruction is visiting other European countries, for most of them also have birthrates well below what is necessary to maintain current population levels (thought to be 2.1 children per woman). Consider that the population of Spain will decline from 40 million to 31.3 million by 2050 if the birthrate in that country persists unchanged.

It isn't hard to see the immediate problems facing a Europe lacking sufficiently high birthrates. Most obviously, the lavish, cradle-to-grave welfare states found throughout the continent will want for new workers and the taxes they would pay — unless immigration soars. But immigration brings its own problems, not least (in a post-September 11 world) terrorism and the cells that support it.

-snip-

(Excerpt) Read more at weeklystandard.com ...


TOPICS: Culture/Society; Extended News; Foreign Affairs
KEYWORDS: birthrate; italy
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1 posted on 04/29/2004 10:18:33 PM PDT by quidnunc
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To: quidnunc
Socialism seems to be a very good birth control device.
2 posted on 04/29/2004 10:20:50 PM PDT by cyborg
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To: quidnunc
Procreation, you could say, is suffering. Simply put, Italians are having very few babies

Italians, perhaps. But certainly not Muslims currently residing within Italy's borders.

3 posted on 04/29/2004 10:22:03 PM PDT by Mr. Mojo
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To: cyborg
Actually, I've seen reports that it is common for birthrates to drop in areas of large population. I believe it was even trace to older times as well. Seems to be a natural population control built in to humans. If wasn't for immigration, ours would be this low as well. Japan is also suffering from low birthrates.
4 posted on 04/29/2004 10:33:42 PM PDT by farmfriend ( In Essentials, Unity...In Non-Essentials, Liberty...In All Things, Charity.)
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To: farmfriend
very interesting POV that I've never heard of
5 posted on 04/29/2004 10:35:22 PM PDT by cyborg
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To: farmfriend; cyborg
Urbanization tends to lead to a decline in birthrate. If you think about it, you have many diversions in an urban environment. In a rural environment/society all there is to do is grow crops and, well, you know...
6 posted on 04/29/2004 10:38:14 PM PDT by Clemenza ("Knowledge is Good" --- Emil Faber, Founder of Faber College)
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To: cyborg
The last time the Muslims, took over a nation way smarter or a head. Then they grown powerful off of the other nation or peoples work, for a short time. Heck this time if they take over us they might distroy there selfs anyway. They don't have any idea what they would get there selfs into.
7 posted on 04/29/2004 10:41:17 PM PDT by Tropicalwatcher
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To: cyborg
ABORTING their already alive fellow human beings is the 'birth control device' the enlightened of Europe are using. The Moslem fundamentalists will out populate the natives in two generations, then Sharia law will finish off the rest.
8 posted on 04/29/2004 10:46:01 PM PDT by MHGinTN (If you can read this, you've had life support from someone. Promote life support for others.)
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To: MHGinTN
Abosolutely.
9 posted on 04/29/2004 10:47:03 PM PDT by cyborg
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To: MHGinTN
absolutely I meant and while I'm correcting myself... I'll add that fetal stem cell research is way more advanced in many European labs than over here. One more thing, assisted suicide AND cloning.
10 posted on 04/29/2004 10:51:44 PM PDT by cyborg
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To: farmfriend
Actually, I've seen reports that it is common for birthrates to drop in areas of large population.

India, or China before they instituted forced abortions, don't fit into that explanation.

11 posted on 04/29/2004 10:52:56 PM PDT by servantoftheservant
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To: servantoftheservant
Well I think post number 6 words it better than I did.
12 posted on 04/29/2004 11:28:40 PM PDT by farmfriend ( In Essentials, Unity...In Non-Essentials, Liberty...In All Things, Charity.)
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To: quidnunc
"A baby," Carl Sandburg once said, "is God's opinion that the world should go on."

Amen.

And as Michael Savage once said (I paraphrase): We should send all the busy bodies, who for 30 years have convinced Western society that having a baby is about the worst thing you could do, into the Middle East to work their whiles with the Muslims.

Italy has a particular problem with this, why I don't know. If it's one thing I'd personally welcome into the world it would be more Italians. But all of Europe and in America too, people need to have more children. The author is right, it is secularism, no respect for God's plan. And who DO they think is going to take care of them in their old age?
13 posted on 04/30/2004 1:44:42 AM PDT by jocon307 (The dems don't get it, the American people do.)
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To: quidnunc
Who the hell cares about anything europe.
14 posted on 04/30/2004 2:49:51 AM PDT by Joe Boucher (G.W. Bush in 2004)
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To: quidnunc
MAYBE. But maybe, too, the low birthrates of Italy and Europe generally are symptomatic of a much deeper problem. That Europe is secular (and American religious, an unnerving fact in Europe) is undisputed. But the problem of a secular society, as the British historian Christopher Dawson long ago pointed out, is that it "has no end beyond its own satisfaction." Such a society may have a harder time turning from its own pleasures to take on the responsibility of raising children.

"A baby," Carl Sandburg once said, "is God's opinion that the world should go on." In secular Europe, God's opinion may not be regarded as very important. A continent whose graying populations are wealthier and healthier than ever apparently prefers to do things other than perpetuate the human future.

I used to be a member of the Episcopalian Church (just as they were going socialist). I saw 1-2 child "couples" at most. My wife and I joined a very good and conservative Baptist church and 4-5 child families are the norm!

15 posted on 04/30/2004 5:32:00 AM PDT by 2banana (They want to die for Islam and we want to kill them)
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To: Mr. Mojo
"Italians, perhaps. But certainly not Muslims currently residing within Italy's borders."

Yup. The Mohammedans fully intend on taking over Italy, and everywhere else they plop down in.
16 posted on 04/30/2004 5:40:56 AM PDT by ought-six
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To: quidnunc
Who cares! Old Europe is so chicken-shit they can't even breed to maintain their existence.

Given the recent behavior of Zapatero, Prodi, Chirac, and Shroeder the sooner they expire the better.

17 posted on 04/30/2004 5:51:24 AM PDT by johnny7 (“Virginians we will stay! Who will come with me?!” -Louis A. Armistead)
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To: quidnunc
This is an important article. Here is the whole text:

Goodbye to All That
Will Italy and rest of Europe depopulate itself to extinction?
by Terry Eastland
04/30/2004 12:00:00 AM

Siena, Italy
IN 1348, THE BLACK DEATH took the lives of 70,000 of this city's 100,000 inhabitants. Siena, whose exquisite art still amazes, never again had a population that large. Today, it numbers just 56,000.

The Black Death was traced to infected rats aboard a merchant ship from the Crimea that stopped in Sicily. The diseases carried by those rats ravaged not only Italy but all of Europe. The loss of life ranged from 12 percent in a city or region to the 70 percent reported in Siena. "No one wept for the dead," wrote a denizen of the devastated city, "because everyone expected death himself."

Today, a visitor to Italy is struck by the fact that demographic destruction is occurring once again, though this time more slowly. There is no Black Death, no communicable disease that the destruction can be blamed on. But the fact is that Italy is depopulating itself, and it is doing so by human choice. Procreation, you could say, is suffering. Simply put, Italians are having very few babies--actually, too few for Italy to survive.

Italy now has the lowest birthrate (1.23 children per woman) in Europe and the second lowest in the world. If Italy's "rate of reproduction continues," London's Sunday Telegraph recently noted, "Italians will slowly but surely die out."

A similar demographic destruction is visiting other European countries, for most of them also have birthrates well below what is necessary to maintain current population levels (thought to be 2.1 children per woman). Consider that the population of Spain

will decline from 40 million to 31.3 million by 2050 if the birthrate in that country persists unchanged.

It isn't hard to see the immediate problems facing a Europe lacking sufficiently high birthrates. Most obviously, the lavish, cradle-to-grave welfare states found throughout the continent will want for new workers and the taxes they would pay--unless immigration soars. But immigration brings its own problems, not least (in a post-September 11 world) terrorism and the cells that support it.

Of course, welfare benefits could be cut. In Italy, for example, the retirement age would have to be raised from a mere 55. But trimming the welfare state requires political will, and it isn't obvious that aging populations that clearly like living in the "present moment," as one European history scholar told me, will acquiesce.

THEY MAY HAVE no other choice, especially if Europe is going to develop a military capability to defend itself (once the United States withdraws its troops). Europe has been able to enjoy "paradise," in Robert Kagan's keen analysis--a paradise made possible by the fact that its security has relied upon American power. Now, though, the time for assuming responsibility for a government's most important task has arrived.

European governments hold out hope that their populations won't wither but stabilize and even increase. Officials (tutored by economists) tend to regard a too low birthrate as a problem of supply that can be corrected as all such problems are--by offering behavioral incentives, meaning money.

Italy recently began offering 1,000 euros (roughly $1,200) to every woman who has a second child. That experiment will be closely watched. Meanwhile, working Italian women continue to complain about their husbands, who they say do too little work around the house. If the men helped out more, they say, they would have a second child.

MAYBE. But maybe, too, the low birthrates of Italy and Europe generally are symptomatic of a much deeper problem. That Europe is secular (and American religious, an unnerving fact in Europe) is undisputed. But the problem of a secular society, as the British historian Christopher Dawson long ago pointed out, is that it "has no end beyond its own satisfaction." Such a society may have a harder time turning from its own pleasures to take on the responsibility of raising children.

"A baby," Carl Sandburg once said, "is God's opinion that the world should go on." In secular Europe, God's opinion may not be regarded as very important. A continent whose graying populations are wealthier and healthier than ever apparently prefers to do things other than perpetuate the human future.

Terry Eastland is publisher of The Weekly Standard. This column originally appeared in the Dallas Morning News.


18 posted on 04/30/2004 9:32:41 AM PDT by Gritty ("In today's phony-baloney world, nuanced inertia is the simple choice of the UN and the EU-Mk Steyn)
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To: All
A phenomenal book on this topic was published last week.
phillip longman "the empty cradle"
19 posted on 04/30/2004 2:20:37 PM PDT by genghis
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To: Gritty; quidnunc
Thanks for posting the FULL article! Much-appreciated, friend!

__________________________________

Quidnunc,


There you go again....


(graphic courtesy of MeekOneGOP from over on this thread


"Did I forget to post the full article again? D'OH!!"


FReegards,

ConservativeStLouisGuy

20 posted on 05/01/2004 5:20:30 AM PDT by ConservativeStLouisGuy (11th FReeper Commandment: Thou Shalt Not Unnecessarily Excerpt)
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