Baby Boom to Bust (ATOM Study Guide)

The world is on the brink of an extraordinary turning point: for the first time in the history of our planet, old people will soon outnumber the young. In affluent Western countries the birth rate has slumped and it seems as if all of humanity is ageing. The two-part series Baby Boom to Bust explores this pressing and controversial issue.

With the huge middle-aged baby boomer generation on the cusp of old age, some experts predict a dire future – a society with far too many frail, chronically ill old people totally dependent on government assistance, a generation with no hope and no savings. In this scenario, without serious cutbacks in entitlements, our social, political and health care systems will be unable to cope. Entire economies will collapse.

But others claim these apocalyptic predictions are wrong – that increased longevity and lower birth rates are not a problem but part of a remarkable success story in which people in the developed world are living healthier and more productive lives. Are our old people a terrible drain on limited resources, or a wonderful asset? Will the prospect of retiring at sixty become a distant memory? Is it possible that the notion of 'greedy geezers robbing the young and bankrupting the economy' is a manufactured 'crisis' to justify governments and private corporations cutting back on their responsibilities to older citizens? And how will society prosper without a new generation of workers and taxpayers?

The questions raised in this series are both profound and critical: What impact will global ageing have on the economy and our way of life? Are lower birth rates a cause for concern or a by-product of prosperity? What are the responsibilities of governments, corporations and citizens? What value do we place on the period of life we call old age? This fascinating series focuses on how we choose to live our lives, what we value, how men and women negotiate their roles within the family and what happens to us as we age.