Old people 1: The demographic transition, Reverend Thomas Malthus, Hasidic Jewish outliers, and the grey vote

The world’s population is rapidly becoming older and older, with many developed nations seeing unprecedented proportions of their citizens in retirement age. Why is this taking place, and does this presage an era of economic stagnation or a utopia of stability? How have fears over demography shifted as fertility rates plummet across the world, and how can we avoid pitting the young against the ever more powerful old in bitter intergenerational conflict?

If you want to go deeper into some of the topics we discuss, find more resources to read, listen to and watch at John's website: http://www.johnwyatt.com

Matters of Life and Death is part of Premier Unbelievable. Find out more at www.premierunbelievable.com