[lit-ideas] Re: Growing Old the Hard Way: China, Russia, India

  • From: Teemu Pyyluoma <teme17@xxxxxxxxx>
  • To: lit-ideas@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
  • Date: Wed, 19 Apr 2006 04:14:48 -0700 (PDT)

First, a small not on demographics. Fertility rate is
dropping until usually settling somewhere around 1.8
all over the world, including not only OECD nations
and Asia, but also Iran, Turkey and Algeria. I am not
convinced this is a problem:

When he was pushed to retirement kicking and screaming
at age of 65, philosophy professor S. Albert Kivinen
of Helsinki U asked in an open letter to Ministry of
Education exactly what he, as a retired philosopher,
is supposed to do now? Stop thinking?

Another anecdote: Firemen here have been campaining
for lower retirement age, currently at 55. Their point
being that very few 50 year old men are fit enough to
dash into burning buildings.

I think these two examples illustrate the problems
with the retirement systems in developed nations.
While there are not that many more philosophers, more
and more people work in fields where the primary tool
is the mind, and the 65 year olds I know have no
problems with mental abilities. And when it comes to
firemen, or construction workers, or pilots... While
it is obvious that such work can only be done for so
long, I find it difficult to believe that there is
nothing useful 50 year old ex-firemen can do.

And it is not like we have a shortage of labor anyway.
Taken together increasing automatization, collapse of
Communism, and increased of women working hundreds of
millions have been added to the global workforce.

That is, I don't see how the tragedy of people living
longer and women under forty not being pregnant all
the time is unaffordable as such. Even in China or
other developing nations, if they can afford 20%
unemployment (best guess at the real figure) then
certainly they can afford a few grannies.


Cheers,
Teemu
Helsinki, Finland

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