LGM Podcast: After the Spike

In 'One Billion Americans: The Case for Thinking Bigger', Matthew Yglesias makes a compelling case for why the United States needs to significantly increase its population to remain a global leader. He argues that supporting parents and children, welcoming immigrants, and implementing policies such as more housing, better transportation, improved education, revitalized welfare, and climate change mitigation are crucial for national prosperity. Drawing on examples and solutions from around the world, Yglesias presents a radical but well-reasoned challenge to traditional thinking on population growth and national greatness.

Published in 1968, 'The Population Bomb' by Paul and Anne Ehrlich predicts catastrophic consequences, including mass starvation and environmental ruin, due to unchecked population growth. The book argues that immediate action is necessary to control population growth to prevent these dire outcomes. Although many of the Ehrlichs' predictions did not come to pass, the book significantly raised awareness about population and environmental issues and influenced public policy in the 1960s and 1970s. The authors emphasize the need for conscious regulation of human numbers and highlight the strain that growing populations place on the natural world.

The novel is set in a future England where human fertility has ceased, leading to a society in decline. The story follows Dr. Theodore 'Theo' Faron, an Oxford don and cousin to the tyrannical Warden of England, Xan Lyppiatt. Theo becomes involved with a group of dissenters who aim to challenge the oppressive regime and fight for human rights. The narrative delves into themes of politics, power, and the human condition in the face of impending extinction. The book is known for its rich social criticism and theological reflections.

Ursula K. Le Guin's "The Dispossessed" is a science fiction novel that explores themes of anarchism, utopianism, and social justice. The story follows Shevek, a physicist who travels between two planets with contrasting social systems: Urras, a capitalist society, and Anarres, an anarchist society. Le Guin's novel is a thought-provoking exploration of different social and political systems and their impact on individual lives. The novel's exploration of freedom, equality, and the challenges of creating a just society continues to resonate with readers today. It's a classic of science fiction.