The Population Question in Northeast Brazil: Its Economic and Ideological Dimensions

Abstract

Contrary to first two paragraphs of preceding comment, my article was in no way based on simplistic formula shown, was in no way based on any assumptions at all about relation of present value of a birth to average per capita income, and certainly did not conclude an increase in population decreases income per capita. In fact, starting point of paper was recognition that both per capita income and population have been growing rapidly in Northeast Brazil. In order to see existence of a population problem, it was argued, one must look behind these deceptive averages. If one does this, one sees that per capita income of bottom 80 percent of population tends to remain roughly constant, while per capita income of upper 20 percent is growing very rapidly indeed. A major reason for this difference is to be found in class differentials in fertility. It was suggested that high fertility of lower class served to perpetuate an unlimited supply of labor at a constant low wage, and thus contributed to high profits, high reinvestment, and rapid growth in portion of total income going to upper class, which class further increased its per capita income by limiting its own fertility. In addition to its monopoly on means of production, upper class has a de facto monopoly on means of controlling reproduction. Thus, far from favoring the maintenance of status quo through a reduction of population pressure, main thrust of paper was that population pressure and pronatalist ideology are in fact powerful forces for maintaining status quo in distribution of income and power. To paraphrase Bernard de Mandeville, in a country where slavery is not allowed, surest wealth consists in a multitude of laborious