Description
Book SynopsisAcross the twentieth century, Earth''s human population increased undeniably quickly, rising from 1.6 billion people in 1900 to 6.1 billion in 2000. As population grew, it also began to take the blame for some of the world''s most serious problems, from global poverty to environmental degradation, and became an object of intervention for governments and nongovernmental organizations. But the links between population, poverty, and pollution were neither obvious nor uncontested.Building the Population Bomb tells the story of the twentieth-century population crisis by examining how scientists, philanthropists, and governments across the globe came to define the rise of the world''s human numbers as a problem. It narrates the history of demography and population control in the twentieth century, examining alliances and rivalries between natural scientists concerned about the depletion of the world''s natural resources, social scientists concerned about a bifurcated global economy, philanth
Trade ReviewBy carefully tracing the idea of the population bomb from the 1927 World Population Conference to the 1974 World Population Conference in Bucharest, Klancher Merchant succeeds in what she sets out to do...Building the Population Bomb is an illuminating read, especially considering how the concept has gained renewed traction due to climate change...Klancher Merchant shows how racism, sexism, and xenophobia is often the real motivation behind ideas associated with the population bomb. This is perhaps part of why it keeps emerging. * Henrick Andersson, Population and Development Review *
[T]his monograph provides us with a compelling account of the conferences, institutions, theories and experts that laid the foundations for the professionalization of the study of populations, as well as the idea that their uncontrolled growth represented a threat to the West. * Martha Liliana Espinosa, Cold War History *
a well-researched history * Big Yew, Slingshot *
Merchant here tells the fascinating story of how overpopulation became the scapegoat for all humanity's ills, blamed particularly for the problems of poverty and environmental degradation. * M. Morgan-Davie, CHOICE *
In this brilliant and important book, Merchant shows how population growth came to be seen as one of the modern world's most pressing problems. The population problem took shape in tandem with the development of a fledgling scientific discipline: demography. Foundations funded its studies, governments embraced its expertise, and business leaders amplified its most startling pronouncements. At the heart of this nexus of activity was eugenics, which not only survived in the postwar era, but thrived. Merchant's story is masterful—a precise, compelling recounting of the rise of a scientific problem at the center of global politics. This is a must read in the history of science, intellectual history, the history of sexuality, diplomatic history, and for anyone who wants to understand the twentieth century. * Dan Bouk, Colgate University *
Emily Klancher Merchant employs historical knowledge, deep understanding of the role of science and technology in social change, and demographic technical expertise to elucidate the contentious story of panic versus calm in the debate about population growth. Building the Population Bomb provides important lessons for understanding the past and viewing the future. * Barbara A. Anderson, Ronald Freedman Collegiate Professor of Sociology and Population Studies, University of Michigan *
Table of ContentsList of Figures Acknowledgments Abbreviations Used in Notes Introduction 1. Quantity and Quality 2. Family Planning 3. Global Population 4. Population Consensus 5. Demography as Diplomacy 6. Detonating the Population Bomb Epilogue Notes Bibliography Index
