The basic debate over population is not one over facts but rather interpretation of facts. Nowhere is this more obvious than when the United Nations hold a conference on aging.
According to UN statistics, by 2050, there will be more than two billion people over the age of 60. For the first time in human history, there will be more people over 60 than there are under 15. That will represent an enormous social and cultural shift.
In 1950, the average life expectancy for the world was a mere 44 years. By 2050 it is expected to be 77 years.
But few people, especially in government, seem to take the time to stop and marvel at what an amazing feat increasing average life expectancy by almost more than 40 percent in a hundred years is.
Instead, of course, the stories in the BBC and elsewhere focus on what a problem this is going to be. Health care costs are rising, people in developing countries who suffer from diseases early in life have a much lower quality of life after they reach 60, etc.
Some days I suspect medical researchers could announce the discovery of a wonder drug that cures all disease and triples life expectancy and the United Nations would rush out a report within a month on the horrible challenges such an advance would impose on the nations of the world.
So let me say it for them — there are today more people alive who are living longer at a higher standard of living than at any time in human history. It is a great time to be alive.
Source:
Ageing ‘is an international problem’. The BBC, April 8,