It’s always pleasant to hit the mark, particularly when one does so in advance.

Matt Ridley, the famous and extremely good author of books on evolution, genetics and society, gives, in Chapter 6: “Escaping Mathus’s trap,” of his book “The Rational Optimist” (Copyright 2010), a lengthy description of nowadays unexpected birth-rate collapse worldwide, which puzzles demographers. He wrote (Page 207: “An unexplained phenomenon”):

       “Deliciously, nobody really knows how to explain this mysteriously predictable (?) phenomenon. Demographic transition theory is a splendidly confused field. The birth-rate collapse seems to be largely a bottom-up thing that emerges by cultural evolution.”

He then goes on suggesting a few possible explanations, all of them related with the ongoing fact, though not originating it.

However, in my book “Ayn Rand, I and the Universe,” which was kindly published chapterwise by “Rebirth of Reason” on its Webpages, I presented, evidently in advance to the riddle, the reason at the bottom of what originated the present birth-rate collapse, which will continue and even intensify in the future, thus making it rather improbable that we will ever reach the 9 billion mark.

In „The Required Change of Ethics“ (Chapter 6 of my book, published by Rebirth of Reason on November 2, 2007) I stated in relation with the overpopulation myth:

       “In addition to this does a capitalistic way of life include a very peculiar way of controlling the birth rate: as continuously less newborn die, humanity does no longer need so many of them. Further on, parents wish, first of all, to enhance their own living standard so as to be able to provide for their descendants a greater chance for a better life and better promotion prospects.”

Well, it’s always nice to relish in self-satisfaction .

Please read Matt Ridley’s book, for it gives most interesting details and fully favors Free Market and Capitalism. However, be warned to read it carefully, for he commits a few errors in the book’s Prologue, where he, amazingly, speaks of a “collective” human brain, which Ayn Rand clearly demonstrated to be a typical Marxist hogwash, and he also speaks of different economic laws for different economic branches (Which is another Marxist blunder)  I called the reader’s attention to this in my comment on the book on the reader’s comment pages of Amazon’s page of the book itself.

For those that want to read the complete content of my book “Ayn Rand, I and the Universe,” I mention, below, the list of all the chapters composing the book itself. There’s one main change, however. I changed what used to be Chapter 1 to an introduction that replaces it. The text of this replacing Introduction can be read on Post 5 of the “Comments” corresponding to “Ayn Rand and Rational Egoism”.

The various parts composing the book have been structured into chapters, as follows (I mention, for reference, the publishing dates of the content, which haven’t changed, with the exceptions mentioned below):

CHAPTER 1: AYN RAND AND RATIONAL EGOISM: THE DYNAMO OF HUMAN PROGRESS (Originally Friday, August 24, 2007)

CHAPTER 2: THE TRAGIC CONSEQUENCES OF THE ERROR WITH "GOD" - METAPHYSICS, THE FIRST COLUMN OF PHILOSOPHY: WHERE AM I? (Originally Friday, August 31, 2007)

CHAPTER 3: ERASING IMPOSSIBILITIES (Originally: Friday September 14, 2007)

CHAPTER 4: THE STRUCTURE OF THE UNIVERSE (Originally Friday, September 28, 2007)

CHAPTER 5: OUR CAPACITY TO THINK: EPISTEMOLOGY, THE SECOND COLUMN OF PHILOSOPHY: HOW DO I KNOW IT? (Originally Friday, October 12, 2007)

CHAPTER 6: THE REQUIRED CHANGE OF ETHICS: ETHICS, THE THIRD COLUMN OF PHILOSOPHY: WHAT AM I TO DO? (Originally Friday, November 2, 2007)

CHAPTER 7: THE LOGICALLY RESULTING TYPE OF SOCIETY
POLITICS, THE FOURTH COLUMN OF PHILOSOPHY: THE ENVIRONMENT REQUIRED BY THE RATIONAL INDIVIDUAL (Originally Friday, November 9, 2007 under the title ‘The Logically Resulting Type of Society’), including: MURDERERS ARE NOT HUMANS and WHICH IS THE STRENGTH AND, AT THE SAME TIME, TOTAL WEAKNESS OF SOCIALISM OR WHY DOES CAPITALISM FAIL IN ITS ENDEAVOR TO CONVINCE WHILE GIVING SUCH GOOD BENEFITS TO THE GENERAL POPULATION IN THE RARELY ATTAINED OPPORTUNITIES WHEN IT IS EFFECTIVELY APPLIED?

CHAPTER 8: THE REFUELING OF OUR POWER FOR CREATION: AESTHETICS, THE FIFTH – AND LAST – COLUMN OF PHILOSOPHY: HOW CAN I CONCRETIZE THE ABSTRACT? (Originally Friday, December 7, 2007 – Includes: CHAPTER 9: DEFINITIONS)

The “Introduction” (Formerly Chapter 1) has been replaced completely, as follows:  “AYN RAND AND RATIONAL EGOISM: THE DYNAMO OF HUMAN PROGRESS.” Its content is presented on the Post 5 mentioned above.