After the Spike

An eye-opening exploration of humanity's unprecedented path to global depopulation and why it is in everyone's interests to prevent itIf we continue as we are, with birth rates falling globally, the world's human population will soon peak and then begin a sudden and rapid decline. Within our grandchildren's lifetimes, older people will vastly outnumber younger ones. A generation beyond that, we will return to population levels equivalent to the Stone Age.It would be easy to think that fewer people would be better - better for the planet, better for the people who remain. In After the Spike, two of the world's leading population economists ask you to think again. From a careful weighing of the evidence and the many claims and counter-claims that surround this controversial subject, they explain why depopulation is not the solution we urgently need for climate crisis, nor will it raise living standards. Far more likely is that the enormous progress of the last two centuries will come to a halt, and our species' survival will become increasingly fragile and uncertain.At the same time, their insights reveal the many benefits that will derive from stabilising population at a larger level, showing the fight against depopulation to be a cause for social equity. Crucially, they explain why success can - and must - be achieved with women's reproductive rights and individual choice as the driving force behind it.Deeply reasoned and uncompromisingly humane, After the Spike sheds important light on an unprecedented shift in the human story and issues a rallying call to action to ensure a thriving future for generations to come.