Vast population growth is one of the chief dangers of our times—but perhaps not because of growth size itself. First, scientists and policy makers differ about how many more people the global system can accommodate. Early dreams of endless growth, nationalistic emphases on population quality, and neo-Malthusian claims to the limits of growth remain intellectual challenges. Actual policy is left to nation-states. Second, nation-states rarely have population policies and, when they do, the policies are quite diverse and self-centered. Third, population imbal ance and uncontrolled migration enhance a perception of a population danger that in turn fuels political destabilization. Getting through the shoals occasioned if not caused by vast population growth requires improved steering by nation-states and a more serious international effort to deal with global policy.
Get full access to this article
View all access options for this article.
References
1.
Bleuel, H.P. (1972). Das saubere ReichBern: Scherz Verlag. (Tr. J.M. Brownjohn as Sex and Society in Nazi Germany. Philadelphia: J.B. Lippincott, 1973.)
2.
Böhning, W.R. (1994). "Helping migrants to stay at home." The Annals of the American Academy of Political and Social Science , vol. 534 (July):165-177.
3.
Brandt, W. et al., (1980). North South: A Program for Survival, Report of the Independent Commission on International Development IssuesCambridge, Mass.: The M.I.T. Press.
4.
Breitman, R. and A.M. Kraut. (1987). American Refugee Policy and European Jewry, 1933-1945Bloomington: Indiana University Press.
5.
Brown, L.R. et al., (1994). State of the World 1994: A Worldwatch Institute Report on Progress Toward a Sustainable SocietyNew York : W.W. Norton & Company.
6.
David, H.P., J. Fleischhacker, and C. Höhn. (1988). "Abortion and eugenics in Nazi Germany " Population and Development Review , 14:1 (March): 81-122.
7.
Deutsch, K.W. (1953). Nationalism and Social Communication: An Inquiry into the Foundations of NationalityCambridge, Mass.: The Technology Press of the M.I.T.
8.
Deutsch, K.W. (1963). The Nerves of Government: Models of Political Communication and ControlNew York: The Free Press of Glencoe.
9.
Deutsch, K.W., B. Fritsch, H. Jaguaribe, and A.S. Markovits (eds). (1977). Problems of World Modeling: Political and Social Implications.Cambridge, Mass.: J.B. Lippincott Company.
10.
Festinger, L., H.W. Riecken, and S. Schachter. (1956). When Prophecy Fails: A Social and Psychological Study of a Modern Group that Predicted the Destruction of the WorldMinneapolis: University of Minnesota Press.
11.
Freeman, G.P. (1994). "Can liberal states control unwanted migration? " The Annals of the American Academy of Political and Social Science, vol. 534 (July): 17-30.
12.
Fuchs, L.H. (1993). "An agenda for tomorrow: Immigration policy and ethnic policies." The Annals of The American Academy of Political and Social Science, vol. 530 (November): 171-186.
13.
Glazer, N. and D.P. Moynihan. (1963). Beyond the Melting Pot: The Negroes, Puerto Ricans, Jews, Italians, and Irish of New York CityCambridge, Mass.: The M.I.T. Press.
14.
Herrera, A.O., H.D. Scholnik, G. Chichilnisky, G.C. Gallopin, J.E. Harday, D. Mosovich, E. Oteiza, G.L. de Romero Brest, C.E. Suarez, and L. Talavera. (1976). Catastrophe or New Society? A Latin American World ModelOttawa: International Development Research Centre.
15.
Hughes, B.B. (1985). World Futures: A Critical Analysis of AlternativesBaltimore: The Johns Hopkins University Press.
16.
Kühl, S. (1993). The Nazi Connection: Eugenics, American Racism, and German National SocialismNew York: Oxford University Press.
17.
Lowell, B.L. and D.G. Papademetriou . (1992). "Immigration and U.S. integration, policy reforms, and economic change" Policy Studies Review , 11 (2): 76-86.
18.
Mead, M. (1943). And Keep Your Powder Dry: An Anthropologist Looks at AmericaNew York: William Morrow and Company.
19.
Meadows, D.H., D.L. Meadows, J. Randers, and W.W. Behrens III. (1972). The Limits to GrowthNew York: Universe Books.
20.
Moch, L.P. (1992). Moving Europeans: Migration in Western Europe since 1650Bloomington: Indiana University Press.
21.
Morgenthau, H.J. (1973). Politics Among Nations: The Struggle for Power and Peace, (5th ed.). New York: Alfred A. Knopf.
22.
Proctor, R. (1988). Racial Hygiene: Medicine under the NazisCambridge, Mass.: Harvard University Press .
23.
Reilly, P.R. (1991). The Surgical Solution: A History of Involuntary Sterilization in the United StatesBaltimore: The Johns Hopkins University Press.
24.
Schechla, J. (1993). "Ideological roots of population transfer" Third World Quarterly, 14(2): 39-75.
25.
Simon, J.L. (1981). The Ultimate Resource. Princeton, NJ.: Princeton University Press.
26.
Simon, J.L. (1989). The Economic Consequences of ImmigrationOxford: Basil Blackwell.
27.
Simon, J.L. (1992). Population and Development in Poor Countries: Selected EssaysPrinceton, NJ.: Princeton University Press.
28.
"Study..." (1993). "Study: Germany needs 12.5 million, Europe 28 million immigrants by 2020." The Week in Germany, 17 December, p.5.
29.
Werner, H. (1994). "Regional economic integration and migration: The European case." The Annals of The American Academy of Political and Social Science, vol. 534 (July): 147-164.
30.
Wihtol de Wenden, C. (1994). "The French response to the asylum seeking influx, 1980-93" The Annals of The American Academy of Political and Social Science, vol. 534 (July): 81-90.
