Asserting that only by a stationary birth rate can a modern nation maintain the present high standard of living, Gunnar Myrdal, Swedish lecturer, warned an audience of 150 people of the dangers of a declining birth rate, yesterday afternoon in New Lecture Hall.
Deploring the high cost of childbirth, Myrdal told his audience that, "The immediate result of childbirth is the lowering of the family standard of living, and a demoralization of the lower class. He believed that the only remedy for the declining birth rate is a government controlled birth program with a system of balancing the number of workers with the amount of work to be done.
Warns of Family Decline
"A declining population means the decline of society with the deterioration of the family," was the keynote of the second half of this lecture.
The Swedish economist pointed out the advantages of a benevolent state that subsidized large families. He cited Sweden as an example of the successful application of government supervised birth control.
This is the second of a series of four Godkin lectures to be given by Professor Gunnar Myrdal, the next will be given on "Remedial Means" on Monday afternoon at the New Lecture Hall.
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