This blog is intended to go along with Population: An Introduction to Concepts and Issues, by John R. Weeks, published by Cengage Learning. The latest edition is the 13th (it will be out in January 2020), but this blog is meant to complement any edition of the book by showing the way in which demographic issues are regularly in the news.

You can download an iPhone app for the 13th edition from the App Store (search for Weeks Population).

If you are a user of my textbook and would like to suggest a blog post idea, please email me at: john.weeks@sdsu.edu

Wednesday, April 4, 2012

Demography is Destiny in Politics

Demography may not determine everything, but it certainly sets the parameters for what can happen in the world, and there is perhaps no better place to see this in action than in politics in a democracy. Chuck Todd at MSNBC is so convinced that demography is destiny that he repeatedly uses that term. This morning he was discussing this on his TV show, The Daily Rundown, in the context of the race between Mitt Romney and Rick Santorum for the Republican Party presidential nomination. He framed the issue in terms of three demographic characteristics--education, income, and religion. I encourage you to watch the segment,  but I won't leave you in suspense. The demographics lean towards Romney.

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