The Declining Population in Europe and the Decline of the Family

This New York Times article discusses the ideas of Paul Ehrlich on population and the environment. Although Ehrlich often resorted to dramatizations and apocalypse-type imagery in his writings, they often had some very poignant objective. Ehrlich discussed the “Population Bomb”, the idea that population was rising so rapidly, that widespread famine would soon be an issue for millions of people. As we saw, no such event occurred, but Ehrlich still firmly believes measures should be taken to limit population growth such as “tax benefits for having additional children” and taxes on childcare items such as diapers and strollers. These proposals and ideas remain highly controversial, as they were in the 1970’s and continue to create a stir even

During the eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries the European population grew immensely (Doc. 1). This was because there were lower death rates and more opportunities during this period. Also, one could also observe that the population increased the most in the countries that were being industrialized. Europe experienced tremendous population growth, but it was often decreased with plagues, wars, and famine. Food prices rose because there was a great need to feed the steadily increasing European population. This change fueled both the Agricultural and Industrial Revolutions. With more job opportunities, the European people took advantage of having multiple children because now they could provide more for their family. These fundamental

Over the past years, there has been an exceptionally large national increase which has caused several population issues. These issues include: homelessness, deforestation and more fields being used to make space for shops and houses disrupting the biodiversity growth. Problems like this are caused when there is an abnormal increase in the birth rate where more babies are born; this is also known as a ‘baby boom’. This can occur when nations have more children as a whole and events like this normally takes place after an achievement – an example being when we won the World War Two. The country was relieved that the fighting was over so their instantly celebrated which is why more children were born. In the last 50 years alone, the population has doubled showing just how fast the population is actually growing and even though it may seem fortunate that there are less recorded deaths, this makes the Economical

Throughout human history individuals around the world, of various ethnic, racial, cultural backgrounds have linked together to form what people call today families. A lot of questions come to mind when contemplating the complex relationship people have. Since families have a direct bearing on society now and on future generations it is essential to take seriously what is happening to the family. Is the American family in decline, and if so what should be done about it? “Traditionally, family has been defined as a unit made up of two or more people who are related by blood, marriage, or adoption: live together; form an economic unit, and bear and raise children (Benokraitis, 3).” The definition of decline is to “fail in strength, vigor, character, value, deteriorate, slant downward.” The traditional nuclear family consists of a father provider, mother-homemaker, and at least one child (Brym and Lie, 252).” The nuclear family is a distinct and universal family form because it performs five important functions in society:sexual regulation, economic cooperation, reproduction, socialization, and emotional support. Research from the 1950 's to the present will emphasize what trends are taking place among American families. Family trends might not have expected???

In the last few centuries, Europe has experienced major changes both in its population makeup and number. Be that as it may, in the last two decades, it has been faced with an unprecedented decline in population growth while struggling with the issue of an aging population. Indeed, from Helsinki to Lisbon, the birth rate has fallen dramatically in recent years. It has fallen so much so that most countries have put together some form of policies to help mitigate what is perceived as a serious demographic crisis in european capitals. Those policies have yielded different results. While some countries like France are now experiencing a slow growth rate as a result of those policies, others in the likes of Germany are forced to still deal with an ever declining population. In this paper, I will be analyzing, comparing, and contrasting the policies in both countries.

In contemporary American society, birth control has become more readily accessible to women, which is indicated by the increased usage of contraception in society. The number of birth

The demographic transition is a three-stage model of population growth in Europe. In the first stage there is a stable population because birth and death rates are both high. The second stage happens as mortality rates begin to slowly decline, but birth rates stay high. When this stage happens, there is fast population growth. During the third stage, the population is more stable as both birth and death rates are low and are more or less balanced. In more recent years, a fourth stage as been brought on by Anti-Malthusians. During this stage, population shrinkage occurs because the deaths begin to outnumber the births. Europe provides a great example to the theory of demographic transition. After speedy population growth of stage two, Europe settled at stage three with a stable population. It is currently in stage four with a shrinking population. In most European nations there are lesser births than deaths which could ultimately create other social problems.

I would also like to look at the effect of birth control outside the context of America and compare it with England and France where this form of contraception clashes with religious ideals. It would be interesting to consider whether the notion of the second wave of feminism is the same on a global scale and whether some countries are yet to enter this phase with women still being unable to access contraception. It is remarkable to see that in some countries women only obtained the vote in the previous five years especially in Eastern countries which is why it would be interesting to evaluate America in relation to other countries to see if this difference is merely a Western and Eastern difference or if it is a matter of difference between

Overpopulation is an issue that many persons fail to bring attention, but don’t know the underlying effects that it can have on the United States itself. The hardships of overpopulation, affects the economy, the available of resources, and also the success of the future generations to come. Without much thought, someone may have children not knowing that it can affect the livelihood of the future generations who plan to land that job or that position they were aspiring to get. There are those individuals that continue having children, knowing that they are not financially capable of supporting another innocent child. In result this negatively affects the quality of living. If there are more births, it foreshadows that there are more jobs to be created, which causes employment hard to acquire, nevertheless, causing the economy to make a turn for the

Second and Third-wave feminism might have played a huge role in this cause. Women in the late 1960’s fought for the right to legal abortions and access to safe contraceptives. Therefore, women in the U.S find themselves with more control over when they have children, and may put off the process indefinitely. When comparing First and Third world Countries there is a dramatic comparison between how many children a family has. The U.S is fortunate enough be able to provide more forms of birth control to further delay the process. There is also a growing trend among more women to choose further education over children. In comparison, the female to male ratio has increased dramatically since 1970. Now more women in the workplace no longer feel the need to be financially dependent on their spouses as compared to women in the early 1960’s. Women aged mid 20’s to early 30’s are finding themselves waiting longer for kids and even marriage. With less pressure from society, there are women who are at liberty to advance in their careers without the need for children being immediate or at

The situation and view of women has greatly improved over the years in America. Women now have equal access to education, increased participation in politics and the labor market, access to birth control, resources against domestic violence, and other equal rights. Women now have the freedom to decide on the role and impact they want to have to society, which was decided for them in the past. Women can work to gain financial independence or decide to get married and have income to support her family. Families that are earning two salaries can afford the better education for their children and enjoy a higher standard of living. One drawback of a woman and father both working is how it may affect their children. In some situation when both parents become career driven, they will have less time to take on the parenting role. This could have a negative impact the children if proper child care services is not provided for them. To prevent this many married adults who both have desires to advance in their occupation, the decision to have kids will often be postponed until each parent finds a more stable position in

Scientists and economists equally agree that the answer to our population problem is education; specifically the education and empowerment in women. “The relationship between population and development with education is undeniable.” Education among women affects fertility rates in many ways, it

To begin, birth control as a whole is used as a method to prevent unwanted pregnancies. With methods such as birth control the population structure continues to change in a beneficial manner. Bastianelli, Benagiano, and Farris (2007) noted that birth control has been used as a tool to attack the global issue of population explosion over the last fifty years (Bastianelli, Bengiano, & Farris, 2007, p. 6). The rate

The Decline of Traditional Family Being Detrimental to Society Some people believe that the decline of the traditional family (Nuclear family) is detrimental to society because a lot of people are not socialising. This is one of the basic roles that a traditional family performs for individuals to meet the expectations of society. Only through a family can a person play a full part in society.

The purpose of this paper is to demonstrate how overpopulation causes social problems. To do so you must take many things into consideration, such as different views of racial problems and conflicting definitions of a social problem. Social problems can be defined in many different ways. They effect everyone and some of us encounter problems everyday as a result of our race, religion, gender, or low income. Others experience problems from technological change or declining neighborhoods, others are affected directly by crime and violence in their own neighborhood, and sometimes definitions of social problems are changed by society because of changes around you. Finally in