For the first time in the history of humanity the ageing of the population will hit virtually the entire planet in the course of the twenty-first century. A phenomenon of such magnitude cannot but have unimaginable consequences. Man will never be the same again, for men have yet to learn to grow old together.
The Great Challenge of Global Ageing
The ageing of the world population is inevitable. Of that, there is no doubt: it figures everywhere in statistical projections in all countries and regions of the world with the exception of Africa. And yet all humanity is not going to age at the same time or at the same rate, because on the scale of ageing some countries are more advanced than others.
What is meant by ageing? It can be defined statistically as the point at which the number of people over 60 years of age exceeds the number of young people under 20.(1) Going a little further, we can define a first level or threshold of ageing–the third age–as those over 60 and a further level, that of the fourth age, which follows 15-or-so years later and includes the over-75s. The latter, fourth, age raises a different set of concerns.
By these definitions, the ‘young old’ (those over 60) can be distinguished from the ‘old old’ (those over 75).(2) Crossing this second threshold poses a formidable problem since, quite apart from the obvious cost of pensions paid by the treasury, it brings with it a crushing burden of expenditure on healthcare or, more simply, the cost of keeping very old people alive, which is growing exponentially.
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