Publisher's Synopsis
Drawing on a lifetime of study, the author explains how population growth affected the course of politics during the past 250 years all over the world, and what the recent cessation of population growth in the richer countries of the world may mean for the future course of politics.;Politics, being a distinctly human affair, is obviously rooted in the existence of human populations that in turn depend upon a perpetual and precarious balance between births and deaths for their continued existence. Reproduction, both biological and cultural, is neither automatic nor unchanging; and when any notable alteration in rates of growth and decay occurs, the group concerned creates critical problems for itself and often for its neighbours as well. McNeill emphasizes the role of demography in human affairs and shows how politics rides on currents of biological ebb and flow. He argues that growing populations, when unable to expand into new territory, seek space within an existing body politic by struggling one against the other. The author proposes the need to confront the dilemma posed by changing demographics.;The author's previous publications include "Rise of the West: A History of the Human Community", "The Pursuit of Power: Technology, Armed Force, and Society since A.D.1000" and "Plagues and Peoples".
