Soft despotism with Paul Rahe: Chapter 5 of 5

Peter Robinson, Hoover research fellow, interviews Paul Rahe, author of Soft Despotism, Democracys Drift, on Hoovers Uncommon Knowledge.

Category:

News & Politics

Tags:

• Rahe
• despotism
• democracy
• uncommon knowledge

[Clarkthewolf]

DIng Dong - Paul has hit upon EXACTLY the problem. We now have the French disease.

[zoticus1]

Population growth is congruent with natural resources and due to the nature of politics in "3rd' world creates a vacuum of wealth consolidation which contracts said resources.Let us not point out to Neo Liberalism and how that directly aids despotism for the benefits of western industry.Look on your map and pick any "3rd"world nation with massive conflict and you will always find an abundant natural resource and despotic regimes.Especially in Africa and S America.

[boxant]

Excellent interview!

I will have to check out his book.

[pchristofferson99]

The facts are on Rahe's side. UN data shows no West European country - NOT ONE - with a birth rate above 2. The nearest is Ireland at 1.96. Greece is at 1.36, Germany 1.33, Italy 1.38, Switzerland 1.42, France 1.89; all below replacement. Look at the UN map that accompanies the data: overwhelmingly, the growth is in Africa and the Middle East, the "third world" where "slowly dropping population wouldn't be a bad thing". Trouble is, those populations aren't dropping at all, they're exploding! QED

[Googolgon]

This guy seems to be making up, or at least carefully trimming, his facts. E.g. in Europe it is the countries with the strongest welfare system that have the highest birth rates.

Secondly, a slowly dropping population wouldn't be a bad thing. In particular in the third world fast growing populations are a serious problem.

In short, although he may have some points, over-all he seems more interested in constructing points to support his views than understanding the actual causes.