From Andrew Sullivan:

At one end, high birth rates are an indication of social collapse and desperation: people are having kids in order to maximize their survival chances. Maybe there is some spiritual benefit to living in such dire need, but I fail to see a simple connection between high birth rates and social health. In fact, declining birth-rates are almost always a sign of economic and social success, not failure, as we’re seeing in China and India. As long as the infrastructure exists for maintaining economic growth, the number of people in a given society is not that important an issue. Fewer may well be better. I’d rather live in Germany than Kazakhstan, wouldn’t you? Yes, there comes a point at which demographic imbalance with too many old people can strain a system. But this is a transitional problem, not a permanent predicament. Wealthier societies with fewer people and continued growth are – or should be – a goal for most of us, not a threat.