Population growth

17 October 2015 | The Tablet

(Headline by The Tablet)

The First Leader in The Times of 19 September 2014, commenting on research that indicated that population increase, particularly in Africa, is likely to be much greater than once thought, states “A sea change in attitudes from the slums of Juba to the gilded corridors of the Vatican would make possible a virtuous circle of smaller families and economic growth.”

The articles “David Blair in Juba” by David Blair and “Hear the cry of the earth” by Paul Hyper in your edition of 10 October make it clear that there is unlikely to be a sea change in attitudes either in the slums of Juba or the gilded corridors of the Vatican. Population growth control in Africa, as far as the Sudanese and the Vatican are concerned, is going to be left to war, famine, and disease, eased only by emigration. The future is grim.

Gerald Danaher

(The Tablet changed the start to “In a leader commenting on research that indicated… The Times opined: ‘A sea change…'”)