Youth and war, a deadly duo

[multi]

Gunnar Heinsohn, a social scientist and genocide researcher at the University of Bremen, has an explanation for why this might be so. Since its publication in 2003, his eccentric and eye-opening Sons and World Power* (not available in English) has become something of a cult book. In Mr Heinsohn's view, when 15 to 29-year-olds make up more than 30 per cent of the population, violence tends to happen; when large percentages are under 15, violence is often imminent. The "causes" in the name of which that violence is committed can be immaterial. There are 67 countries in the world with such "youth bulges" now and 60 of them are undergoing some kind of civil war or mass killing.

Between 1988 and 2002, 900m sons were born to mothers in the developing world and a careful demographer could almost predict the trouble spots. In the decade leading up to 1993, on the eve of the Taliban takeover, the population of Afghanistan grew from 14m to 22m. By the end of this generation, Afghanistan will have as many people under 20 as France and Germany combined. Iraq had 5m people in 1950 but has 25m now, in spite of a quarter-century of wars. Since 1967, the population of the West Bank and Gaza has grown from 450,000 to 3.3m, 47 per cent of which is under 15. If

Mr Heinsohn is right, then Palestinian violence of recent months and years is not explained by Israeli occupation (which, after all, existed 30 years ago) or poverty (the most violent parts of the Muslim world are not the poorest) or humiliation. It is just violence.

More..

[Nicobie]

Quoted by multi,

"Mr Heinsohn is right, then Palestinian violence of recent months and years is not explained by Israeli occupation (which, after all, existed 30 years ago) or poverty (the most violent parts of the Muslim world are not the poorest) "

Sure they are. Pay attention Multi ...

Poppys and Taliban in Afghanistan with big time war for the last 20 years.

Sadist Hussian dumping on the other 75% of the population that aren't his cult of 'sunnys'.

North Korea that won their war but who starves their people in order to be able to kill the rest of the world.

Iran, coming off a big time war with Iraq has clamped down tight on their women, basicly wanting to keep them silent and pregnant, probably in order to replace the ones that were killed in the war they lost.

Yes, human nature dictates that people when threated tend to make extra babys.


If you ever feel a need to pray for something....

pray for birth control.

[multi]

Originally Posted by Nicobie

If you ever feel a need to pray for something....

pray for birth control.

don't force your religious mumbo jumbo on to me , bucko

[JackSpratts]

you guys might like freakonomics.

- js.