Empty Planet: The Shock of Global Population Decline
Written by Darrell Bricker and John Ibbitson
Narrated by Robert Petkoff
4.5/5
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Currently unavailable
Currently unavailable
About this audiobook
An award-winning journalist and leading international social researcher make the provocative argument that the global population will begin to decline, dramatically reshaping the social, political, and economic landscape.
For half a century, statisticians, pundits, and politicians have warned that a burgeoning population will soon overwhelm the earth's resources. But a growing number of experts are sounding a different alarm. Rather than continuing to increase exponentially, they argue, the global population is headed for a steep decline — and in many countries, that decline has already begun.
In Empty Planet, John Ibbitson and Darrell Bricker find that a smaller global population will bring with it many benefits: fewer workers will command higher wages; the environment will improve; the risk of famine will wane; and falling birthrates in the developing world will bring greater affluence and autonomy for women.
But enormous disruption lies ahead, too. We can already see the effects in Europe and parts of Asia, as aging populations and worker shortages weaken the economy and impose crippling demands on healthcare and social security. The United States and Canada are well-positioned to successfully navigate these coming demographic shifts — that is, unless growing isolationism leads us to close ourselves off just as openness becomes more critical to our survival than ever.
Rigorously researched and deeply compelling, Empty Planet offers a vision of a future that we can no longer prevent — but one that we can shape, if we choose.
Darrell Bricker
DARRELL BRICKER is chief executive officer of Ipsos Public Affairs, the world’s leading social and opinion research firm. Prior to joining Ipsos, Bricker was director of public opinion research in the office of the prime minister of Canada. He holds a Ph.D. in political science from Carleton University. He is the co-author, with John Ibbitson, of several books, including Empty Planet: The Shock of Global Population Decline and The Big Shift: The Seismic Change In Canadian Politics, Business, and Culture and What It Means for Our Future. He lives in Toronto with his family.
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Reviews for Empty Planet
5 ratings2 reviews
- Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Eye opening and optimistic account of the future of world population.
- Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The benefits of a smaller population far outweigh the disadvantages. The disadvantages mentioned in the book are pretty unimportant in the grand scheme of things.