Age of the aged as nations go grey

Press, 21 July 1982, Page 21

Age of the aged as nations go grey

By

DES CASEY

Surprising though it may seem, it is not the young who are multiplying the fastest in terms of world population growth. While total world population is expected to treble in the 75 years from 1950-2025. the over-60s will increase five times their present number, and the over80s seven times.

These are figures released recently by the United Nations in anticipation of the United Nations World Assembly on Ageing to be held in Vienna from July 26 to August 6. The assembly will endeavour to throw a positive, though challenging, light on this ageing population phenomenon. Using phrases such as “old bodies are not sick bodies," “Wrinkled faces do not mean shrivelled brains," “There is no ‘too old to work - ”, and “Fun does not stop at 50," the emphasis will be on recognising the energy, experience, and wisdom of millions who. far from being cast aside, should be accepted into society as a powerful' force for development:

Central to the United Nations philosophy on old age is: “People do not cease to be useful when they grow old: experience and skill increase with age.” But the recognition of this fact entails immense changes in the thinking of governments and people in general. The first step is recognition of the facts behind today’s “ageing population.” In 1950, one in 12 people were over 60; in 2025 there will be one in seven. Some Third World countries will see their over-60s increase by 15 times. Today’s 15 to 35-year-olds will be" the oldies of 2025, and will owe their survival largely to improved health, hygiene, and nutrition.

Most will be women because, say most researchers.

;enetic differences. In de-

veloped countries women in their 60s will outnumber men by 10 to seven, and those in their 80s will double male survivors. This trend will soon begin to show in developing countries as well. In the future this older age group will have more and more impact on the political decisions of governments, especially democratically elected governments. They will constitute a very influential part of the electorate. By the year 2020 there will be 38 elderly dependants for every 100 workers in industrialised countries — twice as many as in 1950. (In Austria, there is already one pensioner for every two workers.) The ageing Of nations is a direct consequence of development. Fewer children die in infancy and more people survive into old age as mortality from malnutrition and infectious diseases declines. But a second factor lowers the number of young relative to the climbing population of the elderly. That is, development not

only means less mortality; it also means couples have fewer children because of their greater confidence that children will survive. These two factors of decreased mortality and decreased fertility set the population trends for the future.

"The typical sequence of events.” says the United Nations report, “is an initial ‘greening’ or ‘youthening’ of the population — as more children survive into adulthood and produce families of their owm — followed by a ‘graying’ of the population, as later generations produce fewer children and grow older."

The ageing of nations might be interpreted then as a triumph of development — a sign that hunger and disease are in retreat. But, tragically for the old, they personally do not always share that triumph. Because of new lifestyles that accompany development, the old

are often abandoned in its wake, neglected by the very process that once saved them and kept them alive. The elderly are casualties of development in three ways. First, the modem day system of employment — wages given for labour received — cuts across traditional ways of production which enabled older people to contribute to the family and community welfare. Work was more flexible with family members helping according to ability and energy. Modernisation brings pressure to compete and to perform. It also brings a shift from families growing food for their own consumption.

Background papers for the World Assembly point out that the move today “is towards wage employment: both in the countryside, as land is increasingly owned by businessmen producing cash crops for sale; and in

the city, as factories and offices expand." The result is that people no longer work

for themselves, and in the rush for employment old people are left behind —

often separated from their families and with no contribution to make. Second, education does not cater for the elderly and they are left not understanding the forces and benefits of development, and illequipped to contribute to a more sophisticated lifestyle. At worst, they are considered ignorant, whereas traditionally their wisdom, gained over many years, was highly valued. In both these areas of employment and education, the" United Nations background papers insist, there must be sweeping changes to include the elderly. Third, elderly women are' especially victimised in the process of modernisation, for although they outnumber elderly men they are left in a much more precarious position than their male counterparts. The background papers explain: “In societies where men are the main holders of property and wealth, where employment opportunities are few, and where family structures are breaking down, widows and divorced women are likely to be at a particular disadvantage."

Traditionally then, the old were “useful, respected, and autonomous members of society,” but with modemisa- 1 tion they , become a burden — “dependent on their families or, if they have no family, destitutes for the State to provide for." But the World Assembly on Ageing will be intent on recognising that “the old are not inherently a burden and need not put a strain on family or society." Rather it will seek to put the blame elsewhere: “It is precisely because the old are denied a share in the fruits of development, such as new employment opportunities or continuing education, that they have become a burden.”

The policy of compulsory retirement is more and more being questioned, and the “young-olds” (those who remain mentally alert and physically active) are being accepted as potential assets to society, not liabilities. "To deny a majority of the aged — the 'young-olds’ — a chance to participate in society," say the background papers, “can amount to discrimination of the worst kind.”

Not that retirement is something bad. If chosen freely it can be a welcome spell from a lifetime of work, especially if accompanied by an adequate pension. But often retirement is compulsory banishment from meaningful employment, loss of status, and loss of income. When this occurs retirement is oppressive.

Governments throughout the world are becoming concerned about the increasing proportion of old people in the community who automatically become dependent on a decreasing workforce. The background papers set the ideal: “Only a change in policy — towards continued productive participation by the aged in the economy — will prevent this scenario being repeated in the developing world.”

It is the purpose of the World Assembly on Ageing to point out to governments that the world has a "breathing space within which to establish the old as a resource rather than a burden."

The main effects of population ageing will not be experienced until the beginning of next century. Meanwhile there is time both to guarantee economic and social security for the old and to create opportunities for them to contribute to world development.