This is a population conference, and therefore we must talk about population and not about reforming the worldl” That sentiment was expressed repeatedly in one form or another at Bucharest last August during the United Nations World Population Conference. It was a cry of anger, an expression of dismay, an admission of defeat. It was also, unfortunately, an acknowledgment that many people failed to recognize the very changed character of discussions and decisions about “population.”

The U.N, Conference was the result of over two years of careful planning. As the first political meeting to address the issue of population at the international level, the Conference had generated considerable attention in governmental, nongovernmental, and academic circles. More than four thousand persons came to Bucharest as members of official delegations, as observers, as delegates to the nongovernmental Population Tribune held simultaneously with the Conference, and as journalists. All came to talk about “population,”