Whither Lithuania and Japan? Canaries in the Mine or Outliers of Evolutionary Change?

Abstract

As the authors noted in their article in the Spring 2005 issue of The Mankind Quarterly, a sea-change occurred in reproductive dynamics for many parts of the world in the latter half of the twentieth century . Aligned with the enhanced availability of relatively inexpensive and effective contraceptive technologies, a philosophy of gender egalitarianism also emerged and, in many communities, became culturally ensconced. An unexpected consequence of these two dynamics, acting in tandem, was the lowering of the fertility rate to below-replacement value. The earlier article discussed data from a global sample and two sub-samples: Europe and the Moslem swathe. This article now examines data from Lithuania and Japan to profile this consequence. Possible community responses are presented in the context of cultural evolution.