'Quality' vs 'quantity' in population management

There are five reasons this book on population theory, practice and philosophy should be widely read.

- SANJEEV AHLUWALIA

Dubbed as the Repugnant Conclusion in population ethics, this conundrum presents a moral dilemma. Taken to the extreme, it could deny the right to life to the next child to be born, unless it would be an excellent life, for fear of reducing the average quality of life for all. For the authors quantity scores over quality because it enables the widest possible citizen cooperation, collaboration and innovation. Great research — such as this book — is never the product of one brilliant mind. It develops via extensive collaboration across colleagues and is inter-temporal, building on the achievements of the past and providing research ballast for the future.

Second, it debunks the notion that India is middle-income because it is overcrowded or that low human density is why some areas become high-income whilst densely populated ones remain underdeveloped. Consider that cities everywhere have high population density versus villages, but cities are the engines of growth, not villages. So why should countries be different?