It is orthodox ideology today that overpopulation is a problem. We regularly hear dire warnings about the dangers it poses. But the term overpopulation is never defined. Exactly what is it? How do we know if a country is overpopulated? If overpopulation exists, is there such a thing as underpopulation?

Economic dynamism has helped nurture political decentralization throughout Latin America as deregulation, privatization, and individual enterprise have proven much more compatible with democratic than authoritarian forms of government. Reducing the regulatory role of government through elimination of trade barriers and privatization leaves less room, by definition, for government control over society, spurring democracy and greater local or individual empowerment.

In one of the most influential political works of 1994, Plan B: The Future of the Rest of Canada , Gordon Gibson painted the grim landscape that would result from a Yes vote in a Quebec referendum. He also sketched the outlines of an alternative future for the rest of Canada. Thirty Million Musketeers is the natural sequel to Plan B . It looks at Canada the way it is now, and probes the problems that both separatists and nationalists have with government in Canada.