#  New Aeon Essay by Victor Kumar, "The Vanishing of Youth," Explores Global Population Decline 

 





May 06, 2025

 

 

     ![Black and White image of Fellow in Residence Victor Kumar](/sites/g/files/omnuum9911/files/styles/hwp_16_9__480x270/public/2025-05/Website%20News%20Thumbnail.png?itok=02jfXHup) 

 



 

 ![Black and White image of Fellow in Residence Victor Kumar ](/sites/g/files/omnuum9911/files/2025-05/rsz_2090424_hr_elsce_pct28melissablackallpct29_-88.jpg)

 

In his recent *Aeon* essay, ["The Vanishing of Youth,"](https://aeon.co/essays/population-decline-will-rob-us-of-vital-social-force-youth) current Fellow in Residence [Victor Kumar](https://www.ethics.harvard.edu/people/victor-kumar) addresses the profound implications of declining birthrates worldwide, emphasizing the essential role of youth in sustaining social vitality. Using his own family's demographic shift as a case study, Kumar argues that fewer young people means poverty, scarcity, cultural stagnation, and moral regress.

While some see smaller populations as environmentally beneficial, Kumar advocates for progressive pronatalism and urges societies to value youth as a crucial driver of progress.

[Read Kumar's full essay on *Aeon*.](https://aeon.co/essays/population-decline-will-rob-us-of-vital-social-force-youth)