

The Age of Depopulation With Nicholas Eberstadt | Peter Robinson | Uncommon Knowledge
92 snips Sep 12, 2025
Nicholas Eberstadt, a leading demographer and scholar at the American Enterprise Institute, discusses the alarming trend of global depopulation. He explains why birth rates are plummeting in regions like China, Japan, and Europe, and what this could mean for future prosperity and global power dynamics. The conversation addresses whether immigration can offset these declines, the paradox of wealth correlating with smaller families, and the potential geopolitical ramifications, especially concerning Africa and China. Eberstadt emphasizes the need for a radical rethink of societal views on family and population.
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Planetary Below-Replacement Fertility
- Global population is shifting toward below-replacement fertility without a catastrophic cause.
- This demographic decline is driven by voluntary lower childbearing, not worsening health.
East Asia's Halving Cohorts
- East Asia is experiencing an extreme birth crash with roughly one birth per woman regionally.
- Without radical change, cohorts of newborns there will be about half the size of their parents'.
China's Unexpected Birth Collapse
- China's post-one-child policy birth rate fell dramatically after quotas relaxed.
- Eberstadt interprets this drop partly as a political vote of no confidence in Beijing.