The Ageing World

The Ageing World

by Anil K. Bagchi
Released October 2006
Publisher(s): Pearson India
ISBN: 9788131795255

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Book description

It is now common knowledge that the world is greying. The elderly are increasing in number, and the birthrate is declining. The trend is universal, but not all nations are greying at the same time or at the same pace. This unequal greying is setting in motion a new social dynamic, idenitified by the author as "grey dynamic". Slender families, the breakdown of marriages, children with no siblings or cousins, and vanishing multi-generational homes are all symptoms of the future grey world. The Ageing World is an exploration of this complex new world ahead. In this fast changing world, the long-living individuals will have to live effectively, and this effective living will become a social compulsion. The shrinking workforce won't have the strength to carry the burden of the elderly population--one and half billion by mid-century. The overall effect of the new demography will depend on what people make of their later life. This volume is an exploration of the burgeoning new world we all will face. Globalisation, already a reality, will be hastened by the new element of unequal greying.

Table of contents

  1. Cover
  2. Title Page
  3. Contents
  4. Dedication
  5. Prologue
  6. Introduction
  7. Part 1. The Ageing of Individuals and the Greying of the Population
    1. 1. Eat Less and Live Well
      1. Who are the Old?
      2. Ageing is Generalised Physical Deterioration
      3. Looking for an Explanation
      4. The Rate of Living Theory
      5. Oxygen and the Human Body
      6. Restricting Calorie Intake
      7. Disease or Impairment also Cause Ageing
      8. Ageing of the Mind
      9. Extending Longevity
    2. 2. Where Have the Children Gone?
      1. Greying
      2. The Mechanics of Greying
      3. Fertility
      4. In Which Direction Will the Fertility Rate Move?
      5. Mortality and Life Expectancy
      6. A Clueless World
    3. 3. Knowledge, Growth and Greying
      1. Patterns in the Greying World
      2. Western Nations
      3. China and India
      4. Sub-Saharan-Africa—Countries for which Geography was Destiny
      5. The Latinos
      6. India’s Parsi Community
      7. Starting the Battle all over Again
      8. Declining Birthrate is a Universal Trend
      9. World Greying, a Further Note
      10. Cultural Resistance
      11. A Final Observation
    4. 4. The Aged in the Greying World
      1. Retirement
      2. The Retirement Culture
      3. The Attitude Towards the Elderly, and of the Elderly
      4. Family
      5. Multigenerational Homes
      6. A Note on Eastern Filial Responsibility
      7. Away From Parents, Strangers to Children, Unknown to Grandchildren
      8. Watering the Neighbour’s Lawn
      9. Dependence on Others
      10. Intergenerational Transfer of Wealth
      11. The Aged in the Ageing Society
      12. A Concluding Statement
  8. Part 2. Grey Dynamics
    1. 5. The Compulsions of the 21st Century
      1. The Compulsions
      2. Technology and Environmental Pollution
      3. The Kyoto Conference Recommendations
      4. Consumption and Pollution
      5. Transfer of Technology
      6. Energy Efficiency
      7. Globalisation
    2. 6. Living with Strangers
      1. From an Open to a Closed World
      2. The Next Fifty Years
      3. Grey Dynamics
      4. Migration
      5. The Invasion of Bachelors
      6. Ethnic Considerations
      7. Cultural Barriers
      8. Assimilation
      9. What Happens When Immigrants Form a Formidable Group?
      10. Emigration as an Instrument of Policy
      11. Redefining the Problem
      12. The Importation of Foreign Culture
      13. An Interim Summary
    3. 7. The Age Divide
      1. The Emerging Culture of Older People
      2. Changing Language
      3. The New Divide
      4. The Mechanics of Descent
    4. 8. Changing Workplace, Changing Life
      1. Deliberate Living
      2. Where are the Jobs?
      3. The Nature of the Job Market
      4. Rights in General
      5. The Rights of the Future Generation
      6. Emotional Involvement
      7. Further on Changes
      8. Summing UP
    5. 9. Europe Faces the Greying World
      1. Europe’s Problem
      2. The Islamic Factor in European Immigration
      3. Neo-Imperialism
    6. 10. Young India Faces the Ageing World
      1. Globalisation is Going on Relentlessly
      2. Changing Demographic Mosaic
      3. Population Implotion
      4. Road Map for India
      5. Taking on the Challenge of the Decade
  9. Part 3. Living a Long Life in the Grey World
    1. 11. Beginning the Journey into the Unknown
      1. A Wish List
      2. When Biology Won’t Help
      3. Remaining Fit
      4. The Fitness of the Mind
      5. Try to go back to Work
      6. Restlessness, Boredom and Entertainment
      7. Keeping Fit in Mind and Body
      8. Living
    2. 12. Effective Living
      1. Such a Long Life and Nothing to Look For!
      2. Inventing a Purpose
      3. Back to Basics
      4. Effective Living – What it Should Involve
    3. 13. Remaining Differentiated
      1. Individuality
      2. The Undifferentiated Old—Continuity and Change
      3. Individualism Gone Wild
      4. The me Generation
      5. All Hands on Deck
      6. Successful Ageing
    4. 14. Death
      1. Facing the Final Day
      2. Reconciling Death
      3. Making Room for Others
      4. Steps Towards Actualisation of Life’s Potential
  10. Conclusion
  11. Acknowledgements
  12. Copyright

Product information

  • Title: The Ageing World
  • Author(s): Anil K. Bagchi
  • Release date: October 2006
  • Publisher(s): Pearson India
  • ISBN: 9788131795255