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I don't accept your initial premise. There are many reasons not to have children, and not all of them focus on money and economics. Some people just don't want children and feel no compulsion to have them. Put me in that camp. I don't even particularly like kids, although I wish none of them harm. Just don't want to have them. And I enjoy the fact that I will not create any more consumers to use the earth's resources, but that's just a bonus side effect, in my worldview.
And I don't care whether anyone wants to wring their hands about the possible consequences of some people not having kids. It's no one else's business.
This times infinity. I don't know why the OP assumes that couples or even singles for that matter choose not to have children purely for economic reasons. That is very narrow minded thinking.
When I was married, my spouse and I did not want kids simply because neither of us were very inclined towards raising them. It had nothing to do with whether or not we could afford them. Finances never even entered into the discussion.
He had never really thought about it but I knew I never wanted to be a mom from the time I was a kid myself. I just don't have a maternal instinct. I like kids well enough, younger sister, nieces, nephews, but never wanted any of my own. I just never felt the need to breed.
Successful intelligent couples often decide not to procreate because there is pain in the world or because we are overcrowded. In their hearts these couples believe they are doing the right thing for humanity.
Meanwhile, China has discovered that curtailing reproduction has backfired and they will soon have an aging population with not enough young people in the pool. The one child per couple is a disaster, but at least there is one kid in the picture. However, it seems one kid is not enough! Most of the couples I talk about have ZERO children even though they are well educated and from a higher socioeconomic level.
Why do you think European countries freely admit so many Muslim migrants. They know quite well that without young folks the future is bleak.
What will happen in 100 years if all educated economically successful couples do not have children? What if ALL the kids of the next generations come from a low socioeconomic background?
Whatever they decide is correct for them.
Who says that we get to be the "Procreation Police?"
And, who gives a rat's ass about what China did in the past and is regretting now?
Remember what happened when Hitler wanted a perfect society
My advice is to mind your own business and let others do what they think is right for them!!!!!!!
This times infinity. I don't know why the OP assumes that couples or even singles for that matter choose not to have children purely for economic reasons. That is very narrow minded thinking.
When I was married, my spouse and I did not want kids simply because neither of us were very inclined towards raising them. It had nothing to do with whether or not we could afford them. Finances never even entered into the discussion.
He had never really thought about it but I knew I never wanted to be a mom from the time I was a kid myself. I just don't have a maternal instinct. I like kids well enough, younger sister, nieces, nephews, but never wanted any of my own. I just never felt the need to breed.
Sorry if I was not clear. The reason or reasons for not having children are not the theme of this thread. The point of the thread is the consequence to future generations when the well educated folks choose not to reproduce. From the historical record we know that a fertility rate of less than two kids per couple leads to a reduction of the population in many countries.
From the historical record we also know folks from 3rd world countries have a much higher fertility rate and hence there is overpopulation in their backyards.
Think 400-500 years ahead and try to see the consequences of drastically reducing the number of children that could have being born in homes that would have promoted education and achievement.
There are no large segments of the world population going extinct. Some smaller Native American tribes actually did go extinct at one time, but that was mainly because some died of diseases from the Europeans brought in, others were killed by white settlers and the few remaining ones fled, couldn't keep going due to starvation, lack of genetic variation, etc. Pretty much all segments of world population are now increasing at high rates. The Chinese aren't in any danger of extinction, unless maybe it's from overpopulation and government apathy causing extreme pollution of the air, water and land. Eventually that country will be uninhabitable unless something changes.
I'm one of those who don't plan to have children. I am highly educated and live a good life. Most people who are childless by choice do so because of economic and lifestyle choices. The overpopulation thing is just an add-on, not the main reason.
On a personal level, it might make sense, if you have money. For a society, enough new born are definitely important. The Europeans know that for their welfare state to sustain themselves, they need more young people. Japan will be the first country to demonstrate what it means when half of your population is older than 60. China is smart too. They know that they need more people if they want to build a prosperous society. The thing is, most retirement systems and economic systems are built with the expectation that the pouplation continues to grow. This is essentially a consideration behind immigration policies in north america and europe.
Speaking of the U.S., it is indeed true that more kids of the next generations come from a low socioeconomic background. The problem isn't low birth rate, but the stratification. Rich people, educated people, socially liberal people have a lower birth rate. Religious people, conservatives, immigrants, and people of color have a higher birth rate. Those who are financially independent tend to marry within their class and enjoy their wealth. Those who are dependent have more children who are dependent.
In the future, many young people will have too little to be independent. They also tend to come from backgrounds and cultures that value education much less. Single parenthood, several children, dependence on public assistance, and no future. You will see more protests like those in Mizzou and Yale, probably worse than they are today. The class gap is going to be so big that those at the bottom simply give up on it and expect populist politics to supply oxygen. The society is also going to be cognitively stratified. The poor become less cognitively capable, which limits their employment opportunities and upward mobility. Some of the best jobs in America will hire from a global pool of candidates, leaving behind America's own poor to welfare and campus yelling. And as long as the global talent continues to satisfy corporations' appetite, businesses have little need to support america's own education system and help its own poor. Corporations' diversity today goes heavily toward foreign citizens, than American minorities. While immigrants worked hard to better themselves, america's own spent time protesting and demanding.
Across the top, the rich class will be multinational and multicultural, further alienating the underclass. it's already happening. that's america's future.
The best jobs require little mental strain and they almost never go to the foreign nationals. Most of the jobs are specialized and deskilled, yet educational demands grow together with dumbing down of the work place, education mostly serves social control functions. You might be surprised to know that much that foreign talent is hired to do mind numbing tasks that HS educated technicians used to do in the past, it makes financial sense.
There are no large segments of the world population going extinct. Some smaller Native American tribes actually did go extinct at one time, but that was mainly because some died of diseases from the Europeans brought in, others were killed by white settlers and the few remaining ones fled, couldn't keep going due to starvation, lack of genetic variation, etc. Pretty much all segments of world population are now increasing at high rates. The Chinese aren't in any danger of extinction, unless maybe it's from overpopulation and government apathy causing extreme pollution of the air, water and land. Eventually that country will be uninhabitable unless something changes.
The thread is about the consequences to generations when the gifted educated folks of the developed world decide that reproduction is not for them.
The thread is about the consequences to generations when the gifted educated folks of the developed world decide that reproduction is not for them.
I reject your premise that one needs to have "gifted educated parents" to be successful in life.
Playing Devils advocate however, if your worry is education declining a better plan would be to invest in our education system and find a way to make ALL children better educated and successful.
I reject your premise that one needs to have "gifted educated parents" to be successful in life.
Sure, thee are anecdotal cases of great success in kids that come from bad homes, but this is not the general rule.
Quote:
Playing Devils advocate however, if your worry is education declining a better plan would be to invest in our education system and find a way to make ALL children better educated and successful.
Giving the best teacher in the world to kids that come from awful homes does not make a difference.
Sure, thee are anecdotal cases of great success in kids that come from bad homes, but this is not the general rule.
Giving the best teacher in the world to kids that come from awful homes does not make a difference.
I never said give them the best teacher. I said we should reform our education system so that children who don't come from "intelligent" parents are still able to succeed.
You also have to define what is "educated" and what "success" is.
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