The White Council

Re: Causes of the American Baby Boom (was Re: Beornings)

Tolkien and Inklings Discussion

: I'm not trying to head off a wonderfully speculative thread, but it seems to me that the Baby Boom we experienced in America after World War II is a bit misunderstood.

: I don't know if there is an officially or widely accepted explanation for the phenomenon, but the most plausible explanations I've seen rest on economic grounds. Birth rates in the United States (and perhaps around the world) declined during the depression years because people couldn't support a lot of children (or didn't want to support many kids in what was a poverty or near-poverty level).

: Then the war came along and spurred unprecedented growth in the US economy, but it also forced us to send millions of men over seas (and many women, too, but most stayed here to work in the factories and other jobs for which men were unavailable). So a huge boost to family finances was provided as many families became two-income families, and military personnel accumulated a lot of savings.

: So, when the soldiers and sailors came back, they were ready to settle down and start making babies, and they had the money to support families.

: There wasn't really a parallel for this situation in Middle-earth. There should have been economic growth after the defeat of Sauron. Aragorn would have ensured that travel between the western nations was safe and surplus populations from Gondor and Rohan would thus have been able to colonize lands which had long lain empty. But there was no underlying "boom economy" to help fuel further growth.

: On the other hand, in a world like Middle-earth, it would require fewer (and less sophisticated) resources to establish new towns and villages than in post-war America (or Europe, for that matter).

Fair comments MM, but what d you think of my idea ref the elves - they had the potential for small, short term growth before their final passing away to the realms of fantasy yes? Not politically or militarily (clearly not their fate) but in the numbers dwelling in Mirkwood and Lindon - I see no reason for the numbers to decline in the early fourth age - those that wished to go had gone, those that wished to stay may have children, if the migration continued, Lindon's population would have held steady for a while with those looking to leave replacing those already gone..... Don Q