Love your perspective on this subject. Cynical me has thought wouldn’t housing be cheaper if there’s less people? But I guess everything else would be more expensive because there’s less people producing it. It’s really difficult for me to wrap my head around the implications. Especially when I just don’t see it… I have six kids. My parents are hitting 20 grandkids this year. And 2 of my siblings aren’t even married/reproducing. But, don’t think this means I think everyone should have tons of kids because, like you, I don’t. I’ve heard the fertility collapse described more like a bottle neck or an hourglass ⌛️ the people that make it through the bottleneck will be different. Personally, I think it could end up being a good thing. Like you, I’m a student of history. I too see contingency. I also trust that we can innovate our way out of a lot of the negative impacts.
I think you are right about the bottleneck. The current situation won’t be able to sustain itself forever. People who value children will be the ones having children, and slowly the overall population will value children more.
I couldn’t possible agree more. I’ve even said that same thing about the ‘population bomb’ and today’s situation. And it’s not only because I have a big family in my heart but only two kids that I get to parent. When following Jesus, some of us will end up with bigger families than we’d imagined and some with smaller—both physically and spiritually. And the great thing is that through all of it, we get to not fear for the future.
I really appreciated your article and the link to the interview you provide. I just had a conversation after church yesterday about what the NY Times interviewer called "the coupling crisis" with a mother of 7 teen and adult kids. I have 5 kids myself, 2 of them newly adult, and I am just beginning to see this problem of my adult kids meeting people. It is not as easy as it was for me and my husband 20-some years ago. We have been relatively low tech family - smart phones were given at 17 when the kids start dual enrollment programs, not a lot of steaming subscriptions, etc - but the cultural shift effects everyone in th4 culture eventually, regardless of personal or single family choices. I appreciate your reminder not to fear but to trust the Lord. His sovereignty is the pillow on which we rest our heads, to paraphrase Spurgeon.
I still feel that churches are the best system for Christian social connection out there, and I see no shame in going to one that has a lot of single people in your age range. Because actually, historically, a lot of couples who married went to the same church previously. Even humans who haven’t had churches had similar places where you would go and connect with other families over a period of years. It was never a bunch of loners wandering the globe hoping to stumble across an ideal person. So, I am not suggesting a return to fully arranged marriages, but I’m suggesting there is nothing wrong in looking for a spouse in places where a suitable partner would likely go.
Most discussions of the global fertility collapse fail to mention that the most precipitous drop in birth rates in history, leading soon to the first demographic collapse of a nation, was intentionally implemented by Communist China via the 1-child policy. Most discussions of the fertility collapse in the USA fail to mention that it is not evenly distributed; despite living in the same society with the same technological distractions and economic incentives, Black and Hispanic birth rates are above replacement (as are those of American Indians).
Yes, and this can sometimes be a tell. I come across people who are sounding the alarm about the falling birth rate in the U.S., while also opposing immigration (even the legal kind) and the decline of “traditional values”. That’s a bit odd given that immigrants tend to come from places with more “traditional values” than the U.S. And when you keep digging deeper, what you discover is that they actually want more white babies, not more babies in general.
Love your perspective on this subject. Cynical me has thought wouldn’t housing be cheaper if there’s less people? But I guess everything else would be more expensive because there’s less people producing it. It’s really difficult for me to wrap my head around the implications. Especially when I just don’t see it… I have six kids. My parents are hitting 20 grandkids this year. And 2 of my siblings aren’t even married/reproducing. But, don’t think this means I think everyone should have tons of kids because, like you, I don’t. I’ve heard the fertility collapse described more like a bottle neck or an hourglass ⌛️ the people that make it through the bottleneck will be different. Personally, I think it could end up being a good thing. Like you, I’m a student of history. I too see contingency. I also trust that we can innovate our way out of a lot of the negative impacts.
I think you are right about the bottleneck. The current situation won’t be able to sustain itself forever. People who value children will be the ones having children, and slowly the overall population will value children more.
I couldn’t possible agree more. I’ve even said that same thing about the ‘population bomb’ and today’s situation. And it’s not only because I have a big family in my heart but only two kids that I get to parent. When following Jesus, some of us will end up with bigger families than we’d imagined and some with smaller—both physically and spiritually. And the great thing is that through all of it, we get to not fear for the future.
Well said.
I really appreciated your article and the link to the interview you provide. I just had a conversation after church yesterday about what the NY Times interviewer called "the coupling crisis" with a mother of 7 teen and adult kids. I have 5 kids myself, 2 of them newly adult, and I am just beginning to see this problem of my adult kids meeting people. It is not as easy as it was for me and my husband 20-some years ago. We have been relatively low tech family - smart phones were given at 17 when the kids start dual enrollment programs, not a lot of steaming subscriptions, etc - but the cultural shift effects everyone in th4 culture eventually, regardless of personal or single family choices. I appreciate your reminder not to fear but to trust the Lord. His sovereignty is the pillow on which we rest our heads, to paraphrase Spurgeon.
I still feel that churches are the best system for Christian social connection out there, and I see no shame in going to one that has a lot of single people in your age range. Because actually, historically, a lot of couples who married went to the same church previously. Even humans who haven’t had churches had similar places where you would go and connect with other families over a period of years. It was never a bunch of loners wandering the globe hoping to stumble across an ideal person. So, I am not suggesting a return to fully arranged marriages, but I’m suggesting there is nothing wrong in looking for a spouse in places where a suitable partner would likely go.
Most discussions of the global fertility collapse fail to mention that the most precipitous drop in birth rates in history, leading soon to the first demographic collapse of a nation, was intentionally implemented by Communist China via the 1-child policy. Most discussions of the fertility collapse in the USA fail to mention that it is not evenly distributed; despite living in the same society with the same technological distractions and economic incentives, Black and Hispanic birth rates are above replacement (as are those of American Indians).
Yes, and this can sometimes be a tell. I come across people who are sounding the alarm about the falling birth rate in the U.S., while also opposing immigration (even the legal kind) and the decline of “traditional values”. That’s a bit odd given that immigrants tend to come from places with more “traditional values” than the U.S. And when you keep digging deeper, what you discover is that they actually want more white babies, not more babies in general.
Thank you so much! 😊