"Laissez-Faire Procreation"

by Lee Kuan Yew (Prime Minister of Singapore from 1959-1990)

(from the Foreign Policy Sept/Oct issue "Here Today, Gone Tomorrow: 16 Ideas On Their Way Out")

--Booming populations are a drag on developing countries and low fertility rates are sapping growth in developed countries.

--Wealthier countries will see attempts to migrate from poorer countries as a threat to resist.

--Efforts to increase birth rates in more developed countries have not generally been successful, so these countries may have to accept immigrants in order to maintain healthy economies. Immigration, however, presents a new set of problems.

--Will the United States continue to welcome immigrants as Hispanics change our "character and culture?"

--The social isolation of Muslims in Europe will make their assimilation more difficult.

--The author concludes that governments will begin taking a more active role in encouraging or discouraging procreation.