In his recent book Overheating: An Anthro­pology of Accelerated Change, anthropolo­gist T. H. Eriksen astutely applies thermo­dynamic concepts to explain the economic, environmental, and identity challenges endemic to globalization that are endan­gering social reproduction. The point of friction, he argues, is a matter of scale: The challenges are global in scope but manifest at the local level. Eriksen points to overpopulation, climate change, and the accelerated production of residue—both in terms of waste and redundant people—as signs of overheating.

by Harald Wilkoszewski

Demographic policies can be thorny. Fam­ily policy is strongly linked with culture, and so easily and often politicised. Migra­tion quickly gives way to questions of iden­tity and economic uncertainty in a global­ising world. Yet both are complex and can take years to bear fruit. They require a strong foundation in scientific expertise— not ideological preferences for one model of living over another.