A Cumberland Lodge and Royal Society of Medicine conference
In 2031, 23% of the population will be of pensionable age, and 17% will be under sixteen. Even now there are more pensioners than youngsters under 16. 20% of the UK’s population is over 65, and as research on ways to increase survival continues this percentage is very likely to increase. On the one hand this prediction must surely be a good thing: we can look forward to a longer, higher quality life. On the other hand, bare statistics do not reflect the paradoxical culture of ageing in this and most other countries: we appear to want not better old age, but longer youth. Is this a fair expectation? And underlying this is a more profound question: for what purpose do we strive to extend life?
Until recently, the increase in life expectancy was driven chiefly by preventing death in early and middle life. Today, there is little scope for further increase from this source and the increase in life expectancy, which has not slowed, is driven by something completely new – the declining death rates of those who are already old. Few would disagree that it is a good thing to avoid a preventable death, but our spectacular successes in this direction have created an ageing world in which we discover deep ambiguities about whether or not this is a good thing. What do we want? What should we want, and why?
This conference will consider a series of profound challenges in a world where the increase in life expectancy in developed countries exceeds 5 hours a day, and in many developing countries is proceeding even faster.
Is population ageing a challenge to global population and societal stability and does it threaten prosperity and peace?
What does science tell us about what might yet be possible?
What does the anti-ageing movement signify? Should we embrace it or be worried?
We see great inequalities in life expectancy, even within a rich country like the UK. What underlies these differences and what do they reveal about our civilisation?
What do we actually want for the ends of our lives?
How do we change the pervasively negative attitudes to age and ageing that give rise to the widespread marginalisation of older people and their largely unremarked, hostile stereotyping in all walks of life?
How can we create a society in which we maximise the quality and meaning of our personal journeys across the entire life course?
For all registration inquiries, please contact:
Mrs Janis Reeves, Conference Co-ordinator, Cumberland Lodge
01784 497 794
janis@cumberlandlodge.ac.uk
