This book, Croître ou périr..., (Institut National d'Etudes Démographiques, 2013) was translated by Jacqueline Hecht and myself from my book Strength in Numbers...., (Johns Hopkins U. P., 2002). It traces the use of a widely publicized "depopulation crisis" in France as an Enlightenment arm against the monarchy and the Catholic church, since, according to an ancient proverb, "the value of Kings is measured by the number of their subjects", and Church and throne were ideologically wed. The controversial subjects of divorce, polygamy, and the proper role of women are treated, culminating in the French Revolution and the new government's struggles with these issues.
