ABSTRACT
If the twentieth century can be characterized by growth or expansion, the greatest issue for the world in the twenty-first century is shrinkage, which can take various forms and results from a variety of causes. First, there are global environmental concerns. The earth no longer has the capacity to absorb or handle emissions from the voracious productive activities of humankind. Limiting CO2 emissions is an urgent issue, so the twenty-first century will experience great restrictions on production. Furthermore, natural resources will not suffice if people all over the world consume resources at the same level as advanced nations do today. Meanwhile, the world’s population continues to expand. Due to finite natural resources, the amount of resources available per person will decrease. While the speed of technical improvements will contend with these limits to some extent, if human desires continue to escalate, there will be no way to avoid shrinkage. Although the world’s population is increasing, the birth rate in one-third of all nations is already so low they cannot maintain their populations.
