One-world solutions do not work. Local solutions will. Everywhere people act in accord with their perception of their best interests. People are adept at interpreting local signs to find the next move needed. In many countries and communities today, where social, economic, and environmental conditions are indubitably worsening, the demand for modern contraception is rising, marriage and sexual initiation are delayed, and family size is contracting.
Individuals responding with low fertility to signs of limits are the local solution.
One prays that the hucksters of inappropriate development do not mess this up. All rights reserved. Originally published in The Atlantic Monthly, December 1994. Volume 274, no.