Post-industrial society and aging in a global world: The demographic context of social welfare

Abstract

The challenges posed by welfare in the post-industrial society need to be set within the global context of the demographic changes, the stories by which people live, and the flow of people, technology, money, and ideologies around the world (Appadurai, 1996). Post-industrial societies are characterized by aging of the population, in some cases mitigated by immigration of young, fertile people from less prosperous countries in search of work and economic security. A question only recently receiving attention is whether in the future, young immigrant populations in post-industrial societies will be willing to support an aging population of native residents. The population of Third World countries is aging in a dramatic fashion, albeit from a lower base and, because the overall population of the Third World far exceeds that of post-industrial societies, sheer numbers of older people in Third World countries will in the future far exceed those in post-industrial societies. This trend alone will pose global political challenges as well as challenges for countries faced with a population explosion of elders. In addition to the quandaries of population aging associated with development, some African countries face devastation wrought by AIDS, which depletes the population of those cohorts in mid-life who could otherwise be counted upon to support children and frail elderly. © Springer Science+Business Media, LLC 2009.