Letter : We may start to breed again
Your support helps us to tell the story
From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.
At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.
The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.
Your support makes all the difference.We cannot be "absolutely sure" about "the ageing of our societies" as Hamish McRae says (Business, 9 March). It is quite possible that people in the West may start having more children again, spontaneously or in response to government incentives.
Mr McRae is silent on the conflicts that a demographic shift will surely bring. In the same issue, Nic Cicutti shows how, in the context of a downsizing state facing many rival welfare claims, cutting the cake can become highly contentious ("An unnecessary gamble..."). Already in the US we see budget battles between spending on the young (nurseries and schools) versus the old (health care and nursing homes). Given that we all start young and end up old this may seem an odd and sad basis for social conflict. But since class, sex and race all form bases for distributional struggle, the trends described by McRae make it all but certain that there will be age wars as well.
Aidan Foster-Carter
University of Leeds
Join our commenting forum
Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies
Comments