Little brothers always have to operate in the shadows of their big brothers, but this is ridiculous.
Phillip Longman is the most important man you’ve never heard of in Washington.
A senior fellow at the liberal New America Foundation, Longman specializes in demography. If you’re a romantic, demography is the science of love, writ large. If you’re a cynic, it is the sausage factory of civilization. Whatever your disposition, demography is, if not destiny, then a subject of paramount importance. In the long run, no weapon, no technology, no economic system is more powerful.
Longman has spent many years studying demographic trends, and the conclusions are unsettling. As he writes in his 2004 book, The Empty Cradle, birthrates in America and around the world are declining beneath sustainability; population growth is slowing and, unless the trends of the last 200 years change, will soon bring about population decline – and with it, potential shifts in global prosperity and power.
Forget domestic politics and international relations: Fertility is the thing. As Longman explains, it’s the grand unified theory of everything. As fertility rates decline, populations, then economies, then military power, then world influence, diminish.
“[T]he most important man you’ve never heard of in Washington”? How am I supposed to compete with that? I had a way too long discussion about Phil’s work last night at Drinking Liberally. I don’t want to rehash it. I have to go widen my doors so my brother’s head can fit inside my house.
he was a pretty down to earth guy. Perhaps we fell a bit short of his accomplishments in our own estimation a little bit prior to this particular development, hmmm?
that was cryptic. He is down to earth. As for Einstein hair, maybe when he gets a little older.
He has billowy, a little bit bed head, graying hair. He has Einstein hair
But look how hard he worked to look nice in his bio picture…
Not taking the bait today? Bummer. That’s alright, as usual, I have to run. But I’m counting on you to set up drinking liberally on an odd weeknight come August, so I can throw inappropriate tidbits to anyone who might be willing to listen…
Ah, sibling rivalry. Your bro’s subject matter is fascinating. I can now tell my grandchildren that their grandchildren’s grandchildren might be able to buy, say, Wyoming, ’cause there will only be 500 people left in the country by then.
Actually, the state of Wyoming may be the most populous state in the union outside Utah, and just as filled with Mormons.
Religiously conservative people that marry early, eschew birth control and abortion, and discourage female employment are strangely immune from the fertility decline that normally attends prosperity.
Perhaps because they’re also strangely immune to prosperity?
Good point. In that case, I’ll stick to the Northcoast of California.
Being an older brother myself Booman, I have trouble relating to your…um…shadow dodging ;o) I like the idea of widening your doors though. I might suggest that to my little brothers.
I’m down with that. Three younger brothers, they could do with a little kow-towing to their elders.
Booman, on the other hand, was last in line…
“Baby Boy”
you are evil today. I can picture the mirth as you learned about that incident.
you down to stand in front and get called “Baby Boy” by some woman. He was the family baby too.
so you think it was a compliment?
compliment myself. I was the oldest, we always enjoy being called something a little short of Master or Mistress. In my minds eye though I do seriously see my spouse pushing you down so he can get called “Baby Boy” instead of you. I guess it would be a compliment to him. God my grandmothers both fawned over him awful when they were still living….he just ate it up with a spoon too. He was in heaven! He was the one thing that united two women who swore to hate each other eternally.
I took at as a highly amusing example of the working taking revenge on those at leisure.
’cause I got three younger brothers too…
I see that you have two options here. You can sit back and allow your brother to go public with his Einstein hair hoping that he will fall flat on his face because Einstein hair has already been done….or you can get him a gift certificate to SuperCuts! I vote SuperCuts! đ Oh I feel evil today, I must be ovulating.
Oh..that was good Tracy :o) You are evil :o)
Face it. You weren’t far sighted enough to devote your life’s work to a field that had a tabloid-appealing description like the science of love. But that’s nothing a good PR team couldn’t fix. đ
Per usual, I am tempted to respond inappropriately to a comment of yours. I will now rededicate myself to my study of the science of love.
Why do I hear a Steve Miller song playing in the backround?
Because Booman hasn’t purchased a new CD since the last Van Morrison compilation came out.
you pig.
I don’t own any Van Morrison compilations. Just thirteen records on vinyl and one on CD which is unlistenable because of poor digitization.
LOL!
Ahh, a cord, I’ve struck one after all. Last time I was in town Booman hid my cd case and neglected to send it off to me for weeks. I’ll be checking my luggage before board the plane in Philly this time around…
which leads me to divulge the answer to the biggest mystery in the universe.
Props. Love the Miller research, bro.
Yeah, but pizmotology is only supposed to be revealed to the ones you love. You tryin to tell me something?
And does puppetudes have anything to do with your pantsuit fetish?
ovulating
i am defeated. LOL.
You’re not defeated Booman. I’m retreating. I yield the field to Tracy and her ovaries LOL
I’m the middle child in my family (of 5 kids) and I definitely have the best hair. (Interestingly, my 2 younger brothers are balding while I and and my older brother have full heads.)
And now back to our regularly scheduled program.
Well where does this leave the rest of us? Here I was thinking I was hanging out with the cool Longman, and along comes this article, just like a brick in the face. I mean I was going around saying stuff like “Hey, you ever read Booman? Well I had a beer with him last night and we were talking about hair care products and the latest Gilmore Girls and he said the funniest thing…” trying get people to think I was cool and stuff. Well this blows that strategy. I should have been talking to Phil.
Anyway, as the youngest, least distinguished, and indeed shortest of all my siblings, I too have felt the shadow. I’ve found the best way to overcome my shortcomings and feelings of sibling inadequacy is to underachieve and fuck up disastrously as often as possible. That seems to keep everybody in line and keeps the “are you ever going to do anything with your life” question from ever coming up, because they already know the answer.
that’s why we get along so well. And about the Gilmore Girls…I have forgotten everything we talked about.
You remember…I was saying that the tension left the show when Luke and Lorelai finally got together, and you were saying that what really killed the show for you was when Rory started sleeping around. C’mon, you didn’t have that much to drink.
Admittedly, your brother sounds impressive, but you do have this site so I don’t think you have any need to be jealous. How many people is he going to be leading in the revolution?
ovulating women demanding to be inseminated!
Don’t flatter him. His head is big enough as it is.
Remind me what date that is.
We were going to have it next Wednesday, but the local bridge club had already rented out the revolutionary fairgrounds, so we just called the whole thing off. Probably for the best because nobody could agree on a floral pattern, and my dad refused to spring for an open bar.
I would guess right after the 2008 election. Respected leaders like BooMan still think it is possible to reform the system from within. They deserve a few more cycles to try before we go on the warpath.
I can’t help but wonder what I have missed here. Our planet is overcrowded. Population decline is a good thing because it means that we wont have to struggle for limited resources as badly as we would eventually have to anyway. Losing sustainability??
Turn that around.. if populations continue to decline we might hope to some day reach sustainability – again.
I do not know much about Phillip Longman, and he is probably the height of respectability, but his argument above leaves too much room for the raising of the eyebrow.
Maybe he means that the rich elite will lose sustainibility (namely their ability to fleece the masses as the masses dwindle). That migh tnot be such a bad power shift.
He is BooMan’s much more accomplished brother.
woops! sorry for the stepping on of the toes (if they have been so trodden upon).. but my confusion still stands.
Of course, i can’t get from this text as to if he considers the power shift to be a good thing or abad thing?
I’m re-reading this and I think i come off more critical than I meant to. I am still confused.. since Phil Longman makes it seem (as i read it) as if population decline might not be a good thing and I have long thought of it as being a good thing.
If someone could explain it better to me I promise to be a good listener đ
It’s a bad thing from the perspective of modern economics. Modern economics, as I understand it, says that population growth drives economic growth. And economic growth, no matter what form it takes, is always good.
Of course, common sense says that this is a load of stinking bullshit. But it’s stinking bullshit that the rich can use to justify their exploitative, unsustainable, destructive practices and lifestyles.
I bet your brother wears whitie tighties instead of fabulous, let it all hang out boxers – like youuuuuuuuuuuu
Smokin hot, baby đ
thanks Janet. You crack me up.