Birthrates Are Plummeting Worldwide. Why?

Подписаться 60 тыс.

Просмотров 28 тыс.

50% 1

For a long time, the story about the world’s population was that it was growing too quickly. There were going to be too many humans, not enough resources, and that spelled disaster. But now the script has flipped. Fertility rates have declined dramatically, from about five children per woman 60 years ago to just over two today. About two-thirds of us (www.unfpa.org/swp2023/too-few) now live in a country or area where fertility rates are below replacement level. And that has set off a new round of alarm, especially in certain quarters on the right and in Silicon Valley, that we’re headed toward demographic catastrophe.
But when I look at these numbers, I just find it strange. Why, as societies get richer, do their fertility rates plummet?
Money makes life easier. We can give our kids better lives than our ancestors could have imagined. We don’t expect to bear the grief of burying a child. For a long time, a big, boisterous family has been associated with a joyful, fulfilled life. So why are most of us now choosing to have small ones?
I invited Jennifer D. Sciubba on the show to help me puzzle this out. She’s a demographer, a political scientist and the author of “8 Billion and Counting: How Sex, Death and Migration Shape Our World (wwnorton.com/books/9781324002703) .” She walks me through the population trends we’re seeing around the world, the different forces that seem to be driving them and why government policy, despite all kinds of efforts, seems incapable of getting people to have more kids.
Mentioned:
“Would You Have Four Kids if It Meant Never Paying Taxes Again? (www.nytimes.com/2023/02/08/op...) ” by Jessica Grose
“Are Men the Overlooked Reason for the Fertility Decline? (www.nytimes.com/2023/02/15/op...) ” by Jessica Grose
“If We Want More Babies, Our ‘Profoundly Anti-Family’ System Needs an Overhaul (www.nytimes.com/2023/03/08/op...) ” by Jessica Grose
Book Recommendations:
Extra Life (www.penguinrandomhouse.com/bo...) by Steven Johnson
The Bet (yalebooks.yale.edu/book/97803...) by Paul Sabin
Reproductive States (global.oup.com/academic/produ...) edited by Rickie Solinger and Mie Nakachi
Thoughts? Guest suggestions? Email us at ezrakleinshow@nytimes.com.
You can find transcripts (posted midday) and more episodes of “The Ezra Klein Show” at nytimes.com/ezra-klein-podcast (www.nytimes.com/column/ezra-k...) . Book recommendations from all our guests are listed at www.nytimes.com/article/ezra-... (www.nytimes.com/article/ezra-...) .
This episode of “The Ezra Klein Show” was produced by Rollin Hu. Fact checking by Michelle Harris, with Kate Sinclair and Mary Marge Locker. Mixing by Isaac Jones. Our senior editor is Claire Gordon. The show’s production team also includes Annie Galvin, Jeff Geld and Kristin Lin. Original music by Isaac Jones. Audience strategy by Kristina Samulewski and Shannon Busta. The executive producer of New York Times Opinion Audio is Annie-Rose Strasser. Special thanks to Jessica Grose and Sonia Herrero.

Опубликовано:

5 июн 2024

Ссылка:

Скачать:

Готовим ссылку...

Добавить в:

Мой плейлист

Посмотреть позже

Комментарии : 627

@needmorecowbell6895 2 месяца назад

Children are expensive and inconvenient for many people. As soon as women in developing countries get a cell phone they can see how everyone else lives. They can see the freedom enjoyed by single people in the West and they want that for themselves.

@warrenny 2 месяца назад

What they need is more cowbell. Someone call Will Ferrell.

@bartsimpson8616 Месяц назад

you are dellusional , enjoy in your western ''freedom'' soon gonna be even more freedom.

@Wegivesp Месяц назад

Except it is the developed countries births are down.

@bartsimpson8616 Месяц назад

@@Wegivesp you mean those countries which are not so ''progressive '' and ''free'' as yours .Dont worry , soon they gonna make you high birt rate , And what was most often baby name given on new born in your democratic paradise ? It was Rendal , or was Mouhamed ??

@needmorecowbell6895 Месяц назад

@@Wegivesp Not really. Birth rates are below replacement in places like Brazil, Bangladesh, Vietnam, Burma, Indonesia, Iran, Mongolia, Nepal, N. Korea, Bhutan, Malaysia, Costa Rica, etc.

@anthonyburee650 2 месяца назад

Rich country doesn't mean richer families...... Cost of living , both parents NEED to work. The middle class is now borderline poverty. And children are expensive

@kreek22 2 месяца назад

Both parents to not need to work. Those who think they do are victims of marketers and other propagandists. They don't know what "need" means and don't compare their supposed needs with those of their parents or grandparents. But, this is all to the good. The propaganda system, in effect, is discouraging people who can't think for themselves from reproducing themselves.

@CJ-re7bx Месяц назад

The question is, how can some people be literally dirt floor poor and stil have 10 kids, but someone who has access to decent housing and food feels like they can't?

@kreek22 Месяц назад

@@CJ-re7bx psychology, created by culture

@CJ-re7bx Месяц назад

@@kreek22 wow, I wish I thought of that. You're a genius.

@kreek22 Месяц назад

@@CJ-re7bx I know.

@mempto 2 месяца назад

Something often overlooked is that a lot of people grow up with parents who never should have been parents. This is not an uncommon thing. Back when everybody had kids because you basically had to (boomers and older) you have huge numbers of people becoming parents who were simply not cut out to do the job well. So I think part of the drop in people having children is the understanding by younger generations that they do not want to risk ruining someone's life in the way many of their lives were adversely affected by their parents.

@reginafisher9919 2 месяца назад

Agree 100%

@23erisx 2 месяца назад

Wow aint that the truth! Getting to a place where you can admit that your parents sucked and never should've gotten pregnant with you is a huge step in self healing. Many many people never get there and just repeat the family pattern.

@rrickarr 2 месяца назад

I am one of those people you describe and I am over 50!

@mereniecrosby7120 Месяц назад

Yep definitely a pessimistic society won't have kids! I see it in my own family.

@KitaTaki-mk3gt Месяц назад

Also, the older people get the more they are aware of the advantages of not having children … society brainwashes people in wanting to have kids … but when people get older they start thinking for themselves … Being a parent isn’t like a cornflakes advert … And one better realises that before becoming a parent

@andoarike2843 2 месяца назад

Why not a word on how inhospitable late capitalist neoliberal societies are to families and communities? How school systems are underfunded and falling apart while we spend $1 trillion per year on the military? How paying for health care is a constant worry? How employment is often precarious, and housing costs continue to skyrocket?

@vinista256 2 месяца назад

Good points, all!

@raraavis7782 2 месяца назад

Those are all good points (obviously), but it's still interesting, to look beyond that, imo. Because there are countries where these issues aren't nearly as severe and birthrates are just as abysmal. Or even more so. Germany has a worse birth rate than the USA. And while we're struggling atm, for obvious reasons...we had it pretty cushy here for many decades. Many people still decided to opt out of having a family. Or at least a large family. This already happened between 1965 and 1975 btw, when birthrates dropped from 2.5-1.5 in about a decade. Ever since, we've been pretty much stable at that number. There was even a slight uptick between 2010 and 2020. Just from 1.4-1.6, but still. So this clearly had nothing to do with economic factors or all the upheaval and change, we all have been going through these last 20 years or so. The only people here, that have 2+ kids are immigrants and they are usually not better off financially or in any other aspect (job search, housing etc). Except maybe family support. I've thought about this a lot and continue to be puzzled by it.

@victoriapearce6145 2 месяца назад

The drop in the sixties would be birth control I would think

@kreek22 2 месяца назад

@@raraavis7782 The lowest birthrate in US history was 1.64. Also, the US birthrate declined significantly from 2010 to 2020 (1.93 to 1.64). You're also wrong about who in America has large families. Have you ever met statistics?

@raraavis7782 2 месяца назад

@@kreek22 You missed a key word in what I wrote...which is 'Germany'. I know, I know... it's hard for Americans to comprehend, that there are other countries than theirs in the world *pats head*. No go work on your reading comprehension, before you try to correct others in such an unnecessarily condescending way again.

@davidguerrero1636 2 месяца назад

This misses something obvious, in poor countries children are an economic asset. In rich countries they’re an economic liability.

@User53123 2 месяца назад

Yes! Poor countries use their kids as slave labor. Send child protective services in there and the birthrate would drop to zero.

@oforde5072 2 месяца назад

They mentioned this.

@julianskinner3697 2 месяца назад

On farms children are an asset In urban areas they are a liability

@Bigfield47 Месяц назад

I could never afford them…🤷‍♂️

@T1tusCr0w Месяц назад

No, they are still an economic asset. But to billionaires instead of you. They need a new set of everything. A new house eventually s bunch of new cars. Etc etc. child care, education, all the things children can’t do without went through the roof. Only way to win is not to play.

@suzannejamison5366 2 месяца назад

I have 3 girls and two boys. We were low income, often homeless, carless, and always struggling. Today, only two of my children want and have families; the other three - "no way!" I think this may be because they don't want to struggle so much and bring children into a world which does not support democracy, equal rights, families, education, decent housing, decent jobs, and so forth.

@Scl45689 2 месяца назад

Yep, I think it's funny that social scientists and reporters think we don't know why birthrates are falling. We absolutely do. We are living it. Obviously, there are many reasons,but the big two are: Choice, we are no longer socially obliged to have children Economics: we no longer have an economic incentive to have children. In the past, children were a financial burden, but were also financial help when it came to things like family farms or even working jobs, or caring for elderly parents. Now, children aren't expected (rightfully so) to provide to the family. They are only financial burden, and society does nothing to ease the burden.

@kreek22 2 месяца назад

"Often homeless" That's very rare for American families. It's also odd that you chose to have 5 children, given your exigent circumstances.

@bookplateorg-ry5fl 2 месяца назад

I was surprised that this was not mentioned in the program. I did not have children because of that, and I am talking 50 years ago.

@thegardenoffragileegos1845 2 месяца назад

@@bookplateorg-ry5flIt's not mentioned in the program because that doesn't serve an agenda they're trying to push. Economic policy of the wealth in the US earnestly believes that the more you oppress people, the more they breed like rabbits. They don't think ahead enough to realize that going below subsistence means a person can't feed, clothe, and shelter themselves, let alone a child. This podcast is stuck in the 1990s idea of how Americans live. That's how insulated the upper class is, and that's why they're only going to make things worse as time goes on, particularly with the methods they (regardless of party affiliation) are using to try and force more births for child labor.

@chewyjello1 2 месяца назад

Yep! I'm a single mom of an only child and she watched me struggle to provide for her. She also said "no way!"...she does not want that responsibility. She said a cat is all the extra responsibility she wants....it's hard enough just to take care of yourself now days!

@wlf9108 2 месяца назад

If you’re a single parent you’re pretty much on your own. There is no village to help. Better to stay childless.

@Edo9River 2 месяца назад

In the internet village, not the real one lol 😂 there’s others in the neighborhood who take off the condom and have daughters who go and get married to some lovable but pudgy guy and together so far produce 2 more kids, who seem spoiled but too soon to know

@reuvenpolonskiy2544 Месяц назад

And why the family became so unstable? Why there is no longer any viliage or community?

@everythingisfine9988 Месяц назад

@@reuvenpolonskiy2544 are you involved in the personal lives of your neighbors? Because that's what it takes

@phillipm5148 Месяц назад

How about pick a good man, then don't divorce him?

@wlf9108 Месяц назад

@@phillipm5148that’s like having another baby to take care of

@pce12345 2 месяца назад

Why would people want to bring children into the world when it is in such a bad state and only getting worse? It's actually cruel.

@YadraVoat 2 месяца назад

Compared to what?

@pce12345 2 месяца назад

@@YadraVoat that's it. No need to compare

@coreyander286 2 месяца назад

When has the world been in a better state? The 20th century? Cold War, Vietnam, segregation in the US, apartheid in South Africa? WWII? WWI? The Spanish Flu? The 19th century? Slavery still legal? Charles Dickens level poverty? The 18th century? Medieval times? Roman Republic? Han Dynasty? Bronze Age Fertile Crescent? Human prehistory? The world has never been better than it is now. In terms of life expectancy, eradication of diseases, education levels, equality, human rights... This is the best time there's ever yet been to have kids. Oh, woe to our kids, they'll never know the bliss of being born on a medieval fiefdom.

@kreek22 2 месяца назад

The Left is depressed and childless. The Right is angry and not childless. The future is therefore not hard to predict.

@reginafisher9919 2 месяца назад

Agree 💯

@karim.mmmmmmm 2 месяца назад

Easy answer is are we happy ? I mean most people? Do we even want to live or exist in this place ? Do we see a bright future ?… in the past life was by far more miserable but we didn’t have the means to compare our life with others … now the comparison is depressive … you compare yourself to the rich and you feel like you have no chance in life so you just let go

@lilianab4756 26 дней назад

Oh dear...I have been feeling like this too! ❤❤

@searose6192 23 дня назад

Life was not “far more miserable” , there was less hedonistic pleasure, and a lot more eudamonia.

@TheNanoNinja 9 дней назад

When someone feels like they can't win, then they simply don't play the game.

@karim.mmmmmmm 9 дней назад

@@searose6192 no Life was miserable like hell just cleaning up ur aas after you take a shet was a serious job

@arcticgoddess 2 месяца назад

Another reason for the shift in rich countries is that in most rich countries, women have access to those same opportunities. In 3rd world and developing countries, the norms are for women to only stay home and raise children. When given the choice, women want options too.

@teaadvice4996 9 дней назад

Really? U would prefer wage slavery instead of cooking and cleaning

@baddolphin1423 7 дней назад

Exactly. But also means the extinction of the cultures were women have more decision power (a lot of the northern hemisphere). As a man, I was raised in the spirit of equality, but as I grew older I have become to understand: the future belongs to the men from the.. "other" cultures, the Sharia types. So I am training myself to be less invested in the future and well being of my progressive culture. It is being replaced. We won the civilization game, women are equals. Now it's time to make room for the medievals, 'cause they have the demographic advantage.

@knightofkorbin888 3 дня назад

@@baddolphin1423 Societies founded upon men and women united as fathers and mothers instead of "equals" is going to win in the end... I'm shocked! Shocked! Well... Not that shocked.

@GungaLaGunga 2 месяца назад

i can't even afford to keep a dog anymore. kids? you are out of your mind.

@etherealradar 2 месяца назад

For real. If someone is actually writing, for a living in new york, they are out of fucking touch with this topic.

@kreek22 2 месяца назад

So, you're homeless. But, have internet access. Sure.

@GungaLaGunga 2 месяца назад

@@kreek22 So, you're thoughtless. I didn't say I was homeless, or lacked internet access. Nice gem of a non sequiter strawman combo comment though.

@reuvenpolonskiy2544 Месяц назад

People lived for thousands of years under much harsher conditions and yet brought much more kids.

@antinatalistwitch111 Месяц назад

@@reuvenpolonskiy2544 Those people are not us, so what point are you trying to make?

@lucindabreeding Месяц назад

28.04 this is one of the most important parts of this podcast. I often feel like, in discussions of birth rate, no one is speaking to women of childbearing age. And that not enough politicians or policy wonks are talking to mothers. I cannot speak for men, though. It seems to me that the world is a very difficult place for men. I think men appear to be very isolated and very pressured to perform and make money without any semblance of what we call a work-life balance. And by the way, I'm old enough to remember that the phrase work-life balance didn't emerge an American popular culture until a certain number of women had entered the workforce and someone still had to do the grocery shopping and cook dinner. When I talk to young women - women in college and women on the cusp of graduating from high school - I'm met with a group of young people who feel simultaneously pressured to be able to support themselves, and demonized for doing so. When I talk to young women who have ended their relationships, I hear the heartbreaking consequences of our country's decision to not really offer good sex education to young people. Young men's sex education is pornography. And the younger women in my life report being choked, slapped and hit during sex with their partners, and being shocked and terrified by it. Now, this wonderland we call the internet has lifted a Greek chorus of caterwauling voices. Yes, there are the many "men are trash!" posts. But what's more disturbing to me is the sheer volume of young male voices on the internet criticizing girls for their academic achievements and interest in a career. And that same volume of young male voices insisting that a woman's moral obligation, her biological purpose on Earth, boiled down to keeping men fed, clothed, stroked, sexually satisfied, and fed. These are young men who appear to think that women shouldn't have any voice in our civic institutions. I'm of the age where I understand that my father was born into poverty on a tobacco farm in rural Kentucky. He was the youngest of five children, but who knows how many pregnancies his mother lost before she dropped dead of a stroke when my father was only 10 years old? I look back just one generation and see how all of my parents female siblings drastically reduced the number of pregnancies they experienced. And here we have all of these young men deciding that the proper thing to do is to get women pregnant, young, and breed them into misery and uterine prolapse. So I can well imagine why so many women do not want to replace the current social and political system that is treating them as a punching bag.

@dreamer75438 11 дней назад

I love your comment. All I read about on RU-vid is how women use men for their money. When women are out there making their own money. The same men that are complaining about women using men for their money are the same men that are complaining that women don't want men anymore they are out there with their own careers making their own money. Women can't win no matter what they do😂

@spidersinmykeyboard6367 28 дней назад

It's less culture and more economics that's at the back of this. People aren't having kids because it doesn't make sense for them to. We want too much from people and do too little for them in the west and in America in particular. You want young people, or just people, to have kids then try affordable housing, healthcare, education, etc. We have ravaged the commons in order to see a slight increase in quarterly profits and now ponder why nothing will grow.

@aquababy2012 2 месяца назад

Not a bad thing. Capitalism is way depressing.

@reginafisher9919 2 месяца назад

Agree 💯

@bartsimpson8616 Месяц назад

soon they gonna change in techno feudalism with fashism.

@zebrafinch12 2 месяца назад

Lots of people dont like or want kids

@CJ-re7bx Месяц назад

No duh. The question is whether that feeling has always existed, and if it hasn't, why does it exist now? If it has, why has it changed how people are actually having kids?

@antinatalistwitch111 Месяц назад

@@CJ-re7bx child abuse, child neglect, and child homicide as always existed. Of course everyone did not always like children. No duh!

@Mt0428 8 дней назад

@@CJ-re7bxit always existed but people didn’t have a way to resist it back then because they didn’t have reliable access to birth control at all. People never wanted to have as many children they were having. Now that we have options to control fertility that’s obvious.

@maryanncrody4867 10 часов назад

it would help if men really wanted to get married. most men dont want to get married

@mariamathews5312 2 месяца назад

Because the loss exceeds the gains

@kreek22 2 месяца назад

Natural selection never stops selecting, regardless of how the selection environment shifts.

@etherealradar 2 месяца назад

@@kreek22 true, ive thought about this concept from time to time.

@khidirkarawitah2539 2 месяца назад

I want kids, but i can barely afford to house myself 😞

@searose6192 23 дня назад

Why not move somewhere cheaper?

@givemedeath5801 7 дней назад

@@searose6192I live in THE cheapest state in the union and it's still an impossibility to have kids. Why? Because cheap state means low wages means difficulty providing for children. You people think it's soooo easy but never use any logic. It'd be funny if the stupidity wasn't so tragic.

@StopWhining491 2 месяца назад

Most women don't live on farms where they used to be equated with the livestock.

@teaadvice4996 9 дней назад

And horses

@tomwirt319 2 месяца назад

Maybe people are finally hearing. Earth needs to decrease its human load and its up to us to replace our budgets to lower population. Return us to a balance of loving the earth , our only home.😊

@tomwirt319 2 месяца назад

Go look up t he 1970 book by James Lovelock "GAIA THEORY"

@T1tusCr0w Месяц назад

@@tomwirt319 & Limits to growth. 1972 book. We should have listened. We should have instead tried to have more people live well. Instead of just having ridiculous amounts of more people.

@theultimatereductionist7592 Месяц назад

"loving the earth" is meaningless unfalsifiable garbage. The earth does not feel pain. Only individual sentient beings do.

@dougmiller5849 2 месяца назад

Job stability and immigration is the driver. Immigration is causing massive job instability. Companies can hire/layoff as immigration provides an endless supply of labor and supress wages.

@klf9161 2 месяца назад

Can't we switch this around and ask why would anyone want to have kids? In high income society, having kids is a lot of unpaid work frankly. Kids do not materially contribute to the economic stability of a household. From a practical standpoint, kids are a burden. There are going to be people that enjoy that work so they're okay with that. A lot of people do not enjoy child care or the idea of child care. It's hard just to take care of yourself and deal with the economic uncertainty of yourself. Why would you take on even more uncertainty with a child unless you really wanted to? In the past people didn't think about it. By the time they looked up they already had three kids and a wife. I think now people have the opportunity to mature a little bit and when they actually think about having kids they make the choice that it doesn't make sense.

@michaelparker9083 2 месяца назад

Business got too used to the idea that having children was immutable human nature, and that the labor force would naturally be replenished without them needing to do anything to incentivize it. They have always pursued profit by paying their employees as little as possible, and by paying as little in tax as possible. Eventually they will discover that this state of affairs is ending, and that parents require monetary compensation for the value they are creating for society.

@bluedreams517 2 месяца назад

I come from two lines of huge families. My grandmother on one side had 13-14 children, on the other she had 9, 7 surviving infanthood. My parents had a lot of kids. And then there's me, who's had 3 with one living. There's a couple things that fit what you mention (they married young, pressures kept them in said marriages, and they didn't have access or believe in most contraceptives). One big thing that's different is the cultural emphasis and beliefs around what children are. There is language around babies that emphasizes their positives more than their negatives. Children are seen as blessings and purpose. A fundamental aspect to growing and maturing. That's lost on later gens that may have already come from smaller families or having had that values transmitted to them (or did and rejected them). In my family lines, almost everyone assumes they'll have children and there's a disproportionate number who have larger than average families or are aiming for that. I believe that's strongly tied to a cultural heritage that values children and family.

@GUSCRAWF0RD 2 месяца назад

Not all people can, not all people should. You need a license to catch fish or drive. The idea it’s a right over sovereignty of another human for 18 years with no qualification seems insane in some way too, not that I would change that. You are somehow not doing your duty to your ilk on an organic level by not replicating if you can. Yet thoughtlessly copulating does nothing for humanity. I dunno. I would like to have one child but I just never grew up enough in the right way where I could see that. Maybe there’s other way to pass on what I’ve learned and benefit humanity.

@Edo9River 2 месяца назад

Interesting stuff. I’m in Japan with a family of 2 daughters and though born in the USA, They’ve been here since kindergarten. The distribution of people is a way to help solve this issue. The society that willingly encourages others who are flexible and willing to contribute will benefit greatly by the diversity. There’s a fear of “ losing cultural identity”. What does this REALLY mean, if the society faces economic collapse 😢

@catsaresocute650 2 месяца назад

I agree, without the neccerity you probably should even only have a child if you love to be a parent, including all the work as the thing you would love to do most. I wounder if people have enogh exposure to healthy loveing families who share chores for example tho, because maybe not? A lot of ppl don't seem to belive that's possible for them

@missshroom5512 2 месяца назад

Sometimes I feel all this talk is corporations and companies desperate to beat that bottom line every year. We did absolutely fine with 2 billion people on the planet …only 100 years ago. This is not a finite planet. We will be just fine. Don’t let anyone scare you that more is better. It is just NOT true🌎☀️💙

@Wegivesp Месяц назад

Becoming rich wasn't the cause. Not sharing and the concentration of wealth. Not spreading the wealth among the masses. Selfishness. Greed.

@theultimatereductionist7592 Месяц назад

"rich country" means NOTHING. The ONLY QUANTIFIABLE meaning of "rich" is HOW MUCH QUALITY OF LIFE (which INCLUDES access to advanced technology) do you get in exchange for HOW MUCH HARD LABOR you do. Money is just an INTERMEDIARY between what goods and services you get versus how much goods and services you produce.

@Developer888 Месяц назад

rich for a few, poor for many

@searose6192 23 дня назад

Quality of life does NOT mean access to advanced technology. If anything, tech diminishes eudamonia.

@tora0neko 2 месяца назад

easy answer that doesn't need an hour of filler: it's expensive and wages are meager. Housing, groceries, utilities, debt payments, car payments, gas, etc. are all through the roof. we can barely afford to be alive and feed our humanity on the side, nevermind create and cultivate an entire human being that'll be totally dependent on us. and our society in general has also become so rigid, vacant, and alienated that it's growing more and more difficult to meet new people and form attachments. We barely have any energy and time between work shifts to be fulfilled as humans, we're often too tired or busy with domestic obligations to go out and meet someone to have a child with. And where would we go, anyhow? the third spaces that would fill those needs are disappearing and so our only options are home, work, and trips to the store where we don't typically want to be social or bothered. Capitalism is killing us.

@kreek22 2 месяца назад

Move to N Korea and get some good old school communism. You might lose your Y-tube access, but that's a benefit to the rest of us.

@T1tusCr0w Месяц назад

Left a comment like this on the 1st section of the page. It’s so obvious & these 2 have no idea 🤦🏻‍♂️

@ericarn Месяц назад

I have only heard about 10 minutes of this podcast and don’t understand how these two think most working class people have so much financial freedom & ‘time to enjoy’? Rich countries or ‘some rich people in those countries’?

@theultimatereductionist7592 Месяц назад

"easy answer that doesn't need an hour of filler: it's expensive and wages are meager" I know, right?

@rogue-ish5713 Месяц назад

Because the planet is dying stupid.

@alfreddunn03 Месяц назад

Yep, you keep telling young people the planet is dying...do you think they want children?

@reginafisher9919 2 месяца назад

This world is insane and a complete suffering why would you want to bring anyone else into this madness, why.

@bartsimpson8616 Месяц назад

for satanic purposes , and for couple of billions more,

@teaadvice4996 9 дней назад

Exactly

@alejandroavendano7988 2 месяца назад

I dont understand how 3,7 million births a year is a low fertility rate, if anything they should be trying to make it slower.

@kreek22 2 месяца назад

You do not understand the meaning of the term "rate."

@alejandroavendano7988 2 месяца назад

@@kreek22 no, what is it?

@kreek22 2 месяца назад

@@alejandroavendano7988 In this case it refers to the number of children produced by an average woman currently in the fertile age range. The fertility rate was 1.6 last year. The number of births was 3.7 million. A fertility rate below 2.1 causes population decline.

@reginafisher9919 2 месяца назад

Agree 💯

@searose6192 23 дня назад

Perhaps try to get a grasp on the meaning of “birth rate”

@fredyyfredfreddy Месяц назад

It is not just ''cultural'' The problems are that housing has become insanely expensive in most developed countries. Unnecessarily so and also jobs have become less secure. Rules on the Job market has changed, but even more so the job culture has changed. We now have what I would call a ''hire and fire'' culture where employers try to find '' the perfect'' employee and if it turns out they are somehow human and not perfect then they are fired, instead of investing in the employees and letting them grow.

@andoarike2843 2 месяца назад

Why isn't a falling population considered a good thing, at this point -- if not a miraculous blessing? For two decades now, a commonly quoted statistic is that if all 8 billion humans enjoyed Americans' material consumption levels we'd need 4 or 5 more planets to supply the resources. Needless to say, this is not going to happen -- and Indeed, our planetary resource base is rapidly declining, both in quantity and quality, and we are likely polluting our oceans, aquifers, and atmosphere beyond repair. Why not celebrate the falling birthrate and reform our societies to support a smaller global population?

@Shapeguydude 2 месяца назад

Read your last sentence, that's why

@kreek22 2 месяца назад

Conventional wisdom is usually dumb. There is no shortage of resources, with one possible exception--a mineral important in food production. You've probably never heard of it due to conventional wisdom entrapment. You've also failed to understand basic principles of economics, like catallaxy and automatic market-based information systems.

@platinumfalconm3891 2 месяца назад

"Why isn't a falling population considered a good thing, at this point -- if not a miraculous blessing?" Answer: “The comfort of the rich depends upon an abundant supply of the poor.” ― Voltaire

@reginafisher9919 2 месяца назад

Agree 💯

@theultimatereductionist7592 Месяц назад

Because ALL these media are extremist conservative or centrist biased. OPPOSED to allowing OTHER VOICES OTHER OPINIONS be heard such as ANTINATALIST.

@jamesbunch8932 2 месяца назад

Ezra Klein keeps saying things that make me believe he thinks everyone in America is like him and his friends from graduate school. 13% of Americans have a master's degree. ~3% have a doctorate. Is it possible that not everyone is like him? Is it possible that economic numbers in the US don't accurately represent the level of distribution of income and wealth? Maybe the reason why *most* people are choosing to have fewer kids is that this amazing prosperity is actually *not* equally experienced. This is such a fundamental problem with NYT professional opinion-havers. They are a bit myopic. I, myself, have a doctorate in what has turned out to not be a very lucrative profession. I didn't go into it thinking it would make me rich, but I wasn't prepared for this level of precarity. The idea of buying a house, saving for retirement (or just retiring in general), let alone having a kid... These are all wildly unrealistic for me. So even some of us with graduate degrees aren't doing so well.

@kreek22 2 месяца назад

The smart opinionators (eg, the execrable Ezra) at the Times are not myopic, they're strategic liars. But, there are some dumbos on the payroll.

@Ryanandboys 2 месяца назад

Still doesn't explain why the poorest Americans have the most kids on average. Or why when Americans where much poorer we had many more kids. I grew up very poor to a mom who had 5 kids, it was perfectly fine and we all did well. She definitely didn't put much time in with us and we didn't do any of expensive activities. My best friends growing up supports his 4 kids and stay at home wife in MA on $75k no problem working construction by my brother in a city working in the media making $125k with a partner making $120k says kids are way to expensive. It's obviously not the money it's that they would have to give up ALOT of spending on travel and career progress to have kids.

@kyber1fun164 2 месяца назад

You know Ezra never went to grad school, right?

@jamesbunch8932 2 месяца назад

@@kyber1fun164 that's very interesting. I did not know that. That makes me curious about why he actively identifies himself (in this interview) as belonging to the group of people that go to grad school? He doesn't talk about himself as a person with "only" a bachelor's degree...

@theultimatereductionist7592 Месяц назад

"I, myself, have a doctorate in what has turned out to not be a very lucrative profession. I didn't go into it thinking it would make me rich, but I wasn't prepared for this level of precarity. The idea of buying a house, saving for retirement (or just retiring in general), let alone having a kid... These are all wildly unrealistic for me. So even some of us with graduate degrees aren't doing so well." BINGO! SAME FOR ME! I always did "work hard, play hard", have had a singular goal, with several "backup goals" if the primary goal did not work out, that I "went for", and in some ways, still do. And going for all those goals - all those academic degrees -- was and still is THE BEST DECISION OF MY LIFE! Nevertheless, working hard and being focussed on a goal of life is ZERO guarantee of getting all you had hoped for in return. I've gotten a LOT of what I had hoped for in return (PhD in Mathematics, BChE in chemical engineering, 2 years as a chem eng, eight published papers, have given several talks and poster presentations) but not all I had hoped for.

@masonm600 2 месяца назад

Maybe we're doing parenting wrong? No kidding! What we think is normal has only existed for a couple generations! Moving somewhere with no support network and doing everything yourself in your little castle only works in an age of unprecedented prosperity.

@kreek22 2 месяца назад

Moving away from grandma, then putting the women to work is an excellent recipe for demographic decline.

@catsaresocute650 2 месяца назад

The cost is simply atronmus. Just the thoght of paying in money for all the labour that wouldn't tradtionally be paied but done by the wife/support network. That's hours upon hours. In places where children can't safly play alone around the nighberhood even more money that you pay essentialy for lacking a safe community. And every of those is taxed as a buiness and as a person themselves (the wage needs to be enogh after taxes)- just as much as the parents will be taxed. So a lot of money plus a lot of taxes on top

@StopWhining491 2 месяца назад

And the last time we had that was when?

@CJ-re7bx Месяц назад

@@StopWhining491 Probably the silent generation.

@T1tusCr0w Месяц назад

@@kreek22they demeaned woman’s roles as homemaker & mother. Exhorted them to get a job, a career. Then used them to drive down men’s wages & Cleverly made it this feminist agenda. Whereas it was a capitalist agenda. People respond to stimulus & it worked. & they got the end result too. Now 1 man working 40 hours a week in a middle class job can’t dream of bringing up a 2-4 child family in a decent house, have a car & go 1-2 holidays a year. Woman are unhappy, men are lost. The rich get richer & they find more ways to nickel and dime us. But oh dear. We decided not to play anymore. 🤷🏻‍♂️

@victoriapearce6145 2 месяца назад

An excellent conversation. As a Canadian certainly childcare and maternity leave being offered at a reasonable amount is so important to make having not only the first but additional children being possible. It's never easy but support is so important in an expensive world. Doing volunteer work like a Guide or Scout leader is important work for the community but tough when both parents are overworked and overwhelmed

@TikvahUganda 2 месяца назад

We live in Uganda. We love our kids and have extended family help as well as land for them to play around in. Not everyone has a big family but it's normal to have one and grandmothers expect to be very involved and live with or next to the grandchildren.

@kreek22 2 месяца назад

The grandmother effect is important. Without grandmothers, childcare is more expensive and lower quality.

@arcticgoddess 2 месяца назад

That's one of the norms humans relied on for hundreds of thousands of years. The tribe concept is not moving away from our families of origin and getting support in child rearing. Now that so many people move far away from families, and culture is isolating more, parents don't get a break from kids and kids don't get a break from parents.

@Developer888 Месяц назад

thats not the reality in USA, grandparents aren't nearly as involved, also its way more expensive here to have a family than in Uganda

@verdulo 15 дней назад

Yeah, land for them to play around now. But thanks to all the large families, it soon will be gone. Don’t wait until your country is so crowded that nobody can afford kids, like Japan. Have fewer kids now, and give future generations a decent life.

@petuniawigglebottom3392 22 дня назад

They're time consuming, resource draining parasites. I don't know why anyone would want one. I like my time and higher standard of living with very few obligations and no gratuitous sleep deprivation..

@jessa5388 2 месяца назад

46:05 I have memories of waiting outside of San Francisco restaurants that didn't take reservations when I was a kid. We were expected to wait. We brought a book. It was fine.

@garyjohnson8327 2 месяца назад

I have memories of growing up in Oklahoma when it was a natural paradise with a billion fewer fences

@kreek22 2 месяца назад

@@garyjohnson8327 OK hasn't been a natural paradise since the buffalo roamed.

@Developer888 Месяц назад

im missing the point, are we just sharing our memories here, I remember when Golden Eye came out on Nintendo 64 in 1999, best game especially for inviting friends over to play

@andym4695 2 месяца назад

Real estate prices are part of the problem. It's too expensive to find a house someplace you can hope to find a job (a city or large town) I posit America simply doesn't have enough cash to have a bunch of kids. I also ask the question, what if successful women were willing to marry less successful men, who (are you sitting down?) are willing to stay home with the kids until they start high school, say? You know, that bank manager being willing to marry that handsome bartender? I'd posit these two factors have a lot to do with why people aren't having more kids.

@AlZ-oy4si 2 месяца назад

I'm 35, no kids. Before that, I'd need to actually have a partner. Before that, I'd actually need to date someone. Before that, I'd actually need to ask someone out. Before that, I'd need to move out of my parents house. Before that, I'd actually need to have an income. Before that, I'd actually need to have a job. Before that, I'd actually need to have work authorization. Before that I'd actually need my immigration status to change. 20 years and counting.

@kreek22 2 месяца назад

Or...you could return whence you came and embrace your heritage in the land of your ancestors. And have children.

@taylorc2542 2 месяца назад

That's waytoomany steps. I'd head home and marry a local girl; she'd probably be a better mother than anything you'll get here.

@tatan4ik 2 месяца назад

Yeah you could do all that if you're not killed or thrown to jail right from the airport upon returning to your homecountry.

@jojoball11 Месяц назад

Bothy husband and I were still living with our parents when we met. Go out there and start dating!

@everythingisfine9988 Месяц назад

@@kreek22 The dude immigrated for a reason. I'm just going to guess, he didn't want to starve to death. Word on the street, it's an uncomfortable way to go

@sarakaplan3396 2 месяца назад

As a mother of 9, whose oldest child is 51, at first had children because it was expected of me, but now, I am so grateful for the privilege of having them. They taught me much! And provide so much joy in my life.

@andre1987eph 6 дней назад

Congrats. Much respect for you! There is no higher calling than "Mother"

@brucethomas471 2 месяца назад

I find it curious that there is no mention of chemicals that are causing fertility problems. Perhaps these effects are more in the future? Has Shanna Swan's research been proven incorrect? I do agree with what is presented here but it seems incomplete.

@CJ-re7bx Месяц назад

Good point. Why are sperm counts and testosterone levels dropping?

@Kevin_40 2 месяца назад

a lot of people are satisfied with porn over finding a mate. a lot of people are having a hard time supporting themselves even basic needs such as paying bills and buying food. a lot of people are barely surviving alone, let alone find a mate and have a child. women want nothing to do with a man who is barely surviving.

@teaadvice4996 9 дней назад

They can live in a millionaires harem

@Mt0428 8 дней назад

@@teaadvice4996crazy that you think that’s the only alternative

@roberttilimbici9139 2 месяца назад

It is because in the rich societies people invest too much time in their kids. I was born during Ceausescu's regime in Romania, and then the parents would not spend that much time with their kids. We were going alone to school, come back from school alone and ate what was left for us in the fridge to eat. My both parents were working including on Saturdays. If we would some sport, or take music lessons, the same, we would go alone or with our friends. We spent most our time with our friends outside, not with our parents.

@kreek22 2 месяца назад

What you describe was true for most American children until around 25 years ago. But, the American birthrate dropped below replacement 50 years ago. Romania, though not rich, has had a low birthrate for 30 years.

@theultimatereductionist7592 Месяц назад

Unions and Marxists are JUSTIFIED forms of collectivism: they fight to INCREASE equality of labor and wealth produced by that labor. Unlike nationalism or tradition or culture, which actively fight against equality of choice, freedom, when doing so goes against their nationalistic or monarchist or theocratic delusions and ideologies.

@theultimatereductionist7592 Месяц назад

@squirrelabouttown6022 2 месяца назад

This seems very out of touch. Try to look beyond your own social circle. Not everybody has your paycheck. Not everybody has shared home/childcare duties. You can do a search on any social platform and people will tell you why they are putting off having kids.

@etherealradar 2 месяца назад

Straight up.

@etherealradar 2 месяца назад

Look at healthcare.

@ANANG408 2 месяца назад

exactly, should include someone outside their circle, this seems too narrow for such a wide discussion

@heidijanuary3286 Месяц назад

The comforts of the rich depends on an abundant supply of the poor, Voltaire.

@danmoreman954 Месяц назад

The fertility rate of women who have children is about 2.6. It was roughly 2.6 in 1972. The difference is 5-6 times as many women are not having children now vs 1972. I wish the demographer could have discussed this point. Disappointing interview over all because she did not say anything that was particularly insightful.

@teaadvice4996 9 дней назад

But she was pretty

@reginafisher9919 2 месяца назад

How can this generation have families when they can't even move out of their parents home!!! They can't afford to work and barely pay for a car payment and insurance!!!!! Are you kidding!!

@grahamashe9715 Месяц назад

How do you slow population growth across any and all cultures without anyone even realising it? Empower women (even to the point of absurdity) but say it’s about equality. It’s certainly more subtle than a one-child policy.

@52beautifulmind 16 дней назад

However there’s an exception. The black African population is growing fast.

@jennifershappyplace6938 2 месяца назад

Because no one can afford it. Simple.

@vinista256 2 месяца назад

Exactly. For women, especially, having children is the #1 risk factor for financial ruin (because they tend to end up with the caregiving responsibilities if the couple is unmarried or the marriage breaks up).

@kreek22 2 месяца назад

Because people, especially women, are victims of rising expectations, otherwise known as running on the hamster wheel.

@bagofdoom7693 2 месяца назад

Why does africa which i would assume is mostly poorer than america have so many births?

@YodasPapa 2 месяца назад

@@bagofdoom7693 for real. I'm not saying financial worries play no role but your question makes it plain that it can't be as simple as "can't afford it".

@kreek22 2 месяца назад

@@bagofdoom7693 Traditional culture remains strong in much of black Africa. Men are proud of having many children and pressure their wives into producing them. They also try to prevent their wives from accessing birth control. Quantity prevails over quality in this male-mediated competition for status. The most developed black African countries have the lowest birth rates: S Africa, Botswana, Kenya are all in the 2.5-3.0 range.

@eriksyring 16 часов назад

A conversation between two people who don’t know that humans don’t naturally live in couples but in tribes - and that returning to tribal living is the only road to a higher birth rate.

@kashif7811 3 дня назад

please save the planet we need no child policy for 70 years

@dE3Lov 2 месяца назад

We're eating plastic. Might have something to do with it.

@kreek22 2 месяца назад

Yet, the life expectancy in most countries continues to rise. Did you know the sun inflicts radiation upon the entire earth every day? I'm surprised anything can survive on this planet.

@reginafisher9919 2 месяца назад

The water's toxic the air is toxic the food is toxic, the government is toxic, yeah let me bring another human being into this world, lmao!!!!

@everythingisfine9988 Месяц назад

Certainly doesn't help

@bartsimpson8616 Месяц назад

but that is nt important what you eat , its important MOLSANTO to make couple billions more ,

@Developer888 Месяц назад

ding din ding! here i thought i was the only one who figured it out. its in organs and arteries. plastic massively reduces the ability to have kids and clogged arteries is the reason for nearly all deaths.

@SkepticalZack Месяц назад

The future cultures that will exist will be the ones that have children. This is terrifying to me.

@teaadvice4996 9 дней назад

Dumb poor people

@littlerobotfairy9710 15 дней назад

I think an important thing to note about the low birthrate in most countries except a few, is that people are having less sex, are more likely to be single, and have fewer friends as well.

@arktseytlin Месяц назад

Make housing with several bedrooms in a townhouse affordable, and this will get fixed. Also, get the men to do more in terms of child care

@teaadvice4996 9 дней назад

Or make men taller

@jamesmurphy9426 2 месяца назад

Crocodile Tears Less humans is less taxes Less consumer addiction

@reginafisher9919 2 месяца назад

Don't have kids and have a good life, have kids and suffer

@heidijanuary3286 Месяц назад

It is the economy. Simple as that. Low wages, High inflation , Housing too expensive... These 2 seems out of touch.

@searose6192 23 дня назад

So why does every dollar or wealth you accumulate decrease your chance of having children? Explain that to me. It is not economic, it is cultural.

@Roy-lt3eo 22 дня назад

Scandinavian countries provide generous family benefits and pay packages; yet their fertility rates are still plummeting.

@GIRUxGIRU 21 день назад

@@Roy-lt3eo Even in scandinavian countries you need 2 parents working full time to be "comfortable" - previously you could have a single parent working and one full time child care (traditionally women). It's still less financially viable to try and have children now compared to how it was during the baby boom. In the end, it just comes down to time and money. We have less time and less money as young adults

@GIRUxGIRU 21 день назад

@@searose6192 correlation != causation, this talk even goes over that how india has low fertility despite individuals substantially being in abject poverty

@Ruth-os4mi Месяц назад

Taboo subject : The correlation between fertility rates and intelligence.

@teaadvice4996 9 дней назад

Poor dumb people having kids

@yocavallaro 13 часов назад

Is this in part an implicit consequence of highly valuing the individual, both the parent and the child?

@UXtatic Месяц назад

😂. This topic should have been asked years ago.

@colorwashcarsandguitars 4 дня назад

From watching several demographics researchers interviews most ppl age themselves out of having children. The ppl that do still have children have the amount of children they want irregardless of economic factors. They literally find a way. Rural populations tend to have more children,urban not so much, suburban stay relatively the same.

@christyb2912 10 дней назад

Even poorer country like Thailand are seeing their fertility rates plummet

@yocavallaro 14 часов назад

Would you ever consider a conversation with Peter Zeihan?

@RaghuvirMohanta 2 месяца назад

We should be careful on money usage,if you are not spending to earn back,then stop spending.

@katiekilbo 2 месяца назад

People dont understand that the prices of things are never going back down. This inflation is deeper than we think. Those buying groceries are well aware that the real inflation is much over 10%. The increments dont match our income, yet certain investors still earn over $365,000 in stocks and assets. Wish I could accomplish that.

@MianHussnain-tu1wi 2 месяца назад

Very possible! especially at this moment. Profits can be made in many different ways, but such intricate transactions should only be handled by seasoned market professionals.

@uacdcalvin 2 месяца назад

Some persons think inves'tin is all about buying stocks; I think going into the stock market without a good experience is a big risk, that's why I'm lucky to have seen someone like mr Brian.

@alasdekarton 2 месяца назад

Brian demonstrates an excellent understanding of market trends, making well informed decisions that leads to consistent profit

@ysareyes 2 месяца назад

I'm surprised that you just mentioned and recommend Mr Brian Nelson. I met him at a conference in 2018 and we have been working together ever since.

@alvegutt42 Месяц назад

the day food production gets extremely cheap due to automation, and the majority of jobs can be done remotely from rural areas, and housing cost gets more reasonable, people will be having few kids. and if the current situation is due to people actually not wanting kids, then how would it ever change

@chriswatson1698 Месяц назад

No fault, on demand divorce makes having children highly dangerous for a woman. She can be forced into single parenthood and poverty at any time, against her will and on no grounds at all. Alimony and child support is half the living standard of a person with a productive, contributing partner. No one with whom to share the expenses and domestic labour.

@SC-sh6ux 2 месяца назад

This is a super great conversation but it is unfortunately way too late. What is done is done, we need to focus the conversations on how we are going to deal with demographic changes that humanity has never ever seen before.

@coment80 6 дней назад

It's interesting that you don't allow into your brains the possibility that the world has really gotten worse, that it is in a state of decay and danger and fear that no previous generations have known.

@stephenboyington630 2 месяца назад

The frustration is that people cannot or will not recognize that things CHANGE. Populations go up, and they go down. The people of one generation are not pre-destined to do what earlier generations did.

@jeremy____5747 2 месяца назад

Yes. Right now we have lots of immigration. In just a year from now we are going to have almost none at all.

@kreek22 2 месяца назад

@@jeremy____5747 You're saying that The Donald's second term will be even better than his first? Inshallah!

@msurkan1 16 дней назад

There's no mystery here. Once a country's economic model reaches a point where child labor is no longer a benefit and women reach a minimum education level where they are empowered to control their fertility, the fertility rates dropped. From that point on children become a luxury good and people only have them when they feel wealthy enough to have them without impacting their careers and lifestyle. The only way to grow the birth rate is to remove access to birth control or start paying parents LOTS of money to have kids, such that they start perceiving children as an economic benefit again.

@dutchmaster4309 15 дней назад

this is the most important comment that i've come across

@dreamer75438 11 дней назад

100 agree to this I was just telling my friend this the other day. They will try to remove birth control.

@Mt0428 8 дней назад

If they remove birth control, lots of us will stop having sex with men altogether. Then they legalize rape

@SimonTmte 8 дней назад

It'd be the Zeihan talking point, but he always exaggerates by a great deal and tends to be narrow minded, he is among those types that say everything with certainty, there's truth to his statements but it's almost always a truth with many caveats and other missing details, it's a statement from a capitalist point of view, but if you'd have a culture that is somwhat detached from personal gain and power, that's more altruistic with greater sense of community, than it's a bit different. You don't have societies that are either egotistical or altruistic, but you have many levels of these varying motivations that all in all leads to a net result of behaviour. In practical terms having a child can't be an personal economic benefit, it'd be too expensive, besides as western countries has gotten a lot of muslim migrants, imagine what'd happen if nations started to make these families rich out of having children, already in my nation (Norway) a family of 6 or 7 will recieve the net sum of around $70k annually from the government in child assistance, and that's will practically all other costs already paid for, the reality of even more assistance would be a proposal with ridiculous results, even with such economics as in Norway though rates are 1.4 lower than many other places

@skidcaesar 2 месяца назад

I listen every morning. Thanks!

@VictoriaSobocki 17 дней назад

Interesting episode and big issue

@CitiesForTheFuture2030 2 месяца назад

Tx for an interesting take on the democratic "crisis" - there were a few billion people less 50 years ago and things were okay then so absolute numbers is not really the issue (but over population is a big problem if resources are constrained etc). A few other things to consider - patriarchy, sexism & misogyny have not changed in hundreds of years & will not change anytime soon (women's rights being rolled back); bringing girl children into the world is bad in many cultures & risky in many others so best not to have kids at all - failure of marriage & family support (female headed households worse off) - women who have kids today risk raising them by herself without support or help from anybody - capitalist society focussed on quantity of life (profit, long work hours, focus on productivity etc) not quality of life (relationships, family, social support) - increasing urbanisation (cities designed to get men to & from places of work in fancy cars; cities not gender sensitive nor child friendly) - society is unsure if it will make it to 2050, let alone 2100 (kids are for those who are not paying attention, have no access to family planning & have no other option) - previous gov focus on economic growth & concentration of wealth to elites has led to cost of living crisis awa decrease in quality of life for middle classes - kids strain budgets especially for nuclear families without intergenerational family support - child bearing puts big strain on health & welfare of women / mothers; in society where women are not valued why go through all that - it's more disadvantageous than adventageous - men want sex, govs want tax payers & soldiers, oligarchs want workers & consumers - society really isn't about family at all - women almost always bears the burden of family care & nurturing - unpaid work that's unappreciated & unrewarded, pay more tax (aka pink tax), work longer hours (career & home), devalued by society (GBV etc), poorer, more discrimination & prejudice, exploited as consumers,, less support in all life stages etc

@MayorMcC666 2 месяца назад

You wont collapse, you'll just "change" aka stagnate and decline! very reassuring sentiment there

@andresp.4583 2 месяца назад

Ezra I would love to hear an entire podcast just on your ‘individualism’ theory, I think you’re definitely touching something important

@kreek22 2 месяца назад

I agree it's part of the explanation. But, capitalism doesn't seem to work well without individualism. Not only was modern capitalism invented by the most individualist nations on earth (the WEIRD people), but these places continue to lead the race. The only places that challenge them, in NE Asia, have somewhat less individualism, but even lower birth rates. Also, NE Asia is much more individualist than it was a century ago.

@catholicconvert2119 2 месяца назад

Screw individualism

@kreek22 2 месяца назад

@@catholicconvert2119 Thanks for the internet graffiti.

@sarahknehr1362 Месяц назад

Fascinating discussion but oh my so much privilege being shown! Having kids being fun? Historicly they just happened. Kids were just part of life. And then they were useful for hunting, gathering, farmering. Starting in at least the 70s we started hammering it home that if you had kids before you graduated college you had ruined your life and your chances. I think people really took to heart that kids ruin lives. Now, im all for sex education and I have three kids myself, so I can say that kids make life more: hilarious, stressful, satisfying, and anger inducing. But they certainly don't make it easier.

@MayorMcC666 2 месяца назад

good thing the rules of the game will never change guys! righ? right?...

@johnmitchell2741 2 месяца назад

Both of you obviousyl missed the boat🤣Its called clueless

@evelynramos445 2 месяца назад

Nice hear Ezra! So great to have you among us!

@michaellockhart6632 2 месяца назад

I would never try to raise children in this world

@JO-uy6zs 2 месяца назад

That's what they've been saying for hundreds of years. Even the panic of 1000 AD was the end of this decadent, corrupt horrible world lol. They'll still be saying it in 3000 AD lol

@teaadvice4996 9 дней назад

@@JO-uy6zsjust proves dumb poor people have more slave babies

@qarljohnson4971 2 месяца назад

The actual problem is overconsumption by the top 10%. Top 10% being most of us here online. The OECD nations comprise most of this overconsumptive class, who consume >60% of the planet's annual resources, leaving only 40%, for the bottom 90% of humanity. If we top 10% reduce our consumption back to 1950s levels, every human being could thrive on Earth. That does mean ending Capitalism and in specific, ending ALL forms of rent extraction.

@kreek22 2 месяца назад

Your numbers are incorrect, probably due to ideology, possibly due to innumeracy.

@joangratzer2101 Месяц назад

PHYSICALLY IMPOSSIBLE; GOD FORGOT TO GIVE WOMEN A SEX DRIVE, HE SCREWED UP BIG TIME. HARDLY PERFECT DESIGN.

@scipioafricanus2 9 дней назад

mostly because of feminism, duh. no coincidence that the birth dearth began the same time as the triumph of 2nd wave feminism during the early 1970s. huge influx of women into the work force caused wages to plummet and stagnate ever since and of course made women obsess over advancing their careers as their life's main priority rather than getting married and giving birth as it had been since time immemorial and it created endless tensions in marriages since husband/wife roles are no longer clearly defined and in constant strife.

@searose6192 23 дня назад

5:15 Yes, they are extinctionists and eugenicists.

@Will-nn6ux 2 месяца назад

I appreciate that there are practical problems associated with falling populations, but surely it *is* a good thing from an environmental perspective. Each new person consumes a *lot* of resources, and contributes a lot to pollution. Every human life is important, every person matters, but that doesn’t make it important for *everybody* to reproduce and make more of them.

@F2t0ny 2 месяца назад

I feel guilty for engaging in my hobbies and not spending time with my kids or leaving them to my wife.

@dreamer75438 11 дней назад

I feel guilty sometimes for leaving the father of my kids and having him raise my two children but I like my freedom

@PikesCore24 2 месяца назад

"worldwide"? I expect better of you Ezra; Birthrates are plumeting among some populations in some countries, but not in other populations and in other countries. These details are important to our understanding. You are an intelligent man and I know you are capable of covering subjects like this in detail, rather than with a broad brush.

@kreek22 2 месяца назад

You're either not on the ball or you're being pedantic.

@kreek22 2 месяца назад

@@jeremy____5747 Not even close to correct.

@kreek22 2 месяца назад

@@jeremy____5747 The pop. of every single African country is growing.

@geoffreynhill2833 2 месяца назад

Why? Who'd bring a child into THIS world ? 🤔("Green Fire", IngramSpark, geoff nelson hill ) 🌈🦉

@johnkawakami8395 2 месяца назад

These US aligned Asian countries are paternalistic and fascist. What do they have in common, aside from fighting each other? They are dominated by the US government.

@Ruth-os4mi Месяц назад

What about the so-called maternal instinct?

@marycarter3972 2 месяца назад

Funny that Ezra does not understand why women do not want to have lots of children

@andre1987eph 6 дней назад

because they have bought the lies of feminism, like Eve bought the lie of Satan in the Garden of Eden.

@Bigfield47 Месяц назад

A person born today can probably live to the end of the century. By then the world will be very different from the world of 1960 or even 2000. Sea levels will have pushed populations near the seas to move inward. Money will have been funneled into the hands of the wealthiest 2-4%. Sea level raises will have also reduced arable land. The population will have grown to unsustainable levels. This is not a scenario for lots of good outcomes. My belief is that the peoples need for more resources to live will attempt to redistribute wealth and resources which will lead to a world wide collapse of society. Having children today might be the ultimate bad move. For them and the world.

@Semper_Iratus 2 месяца назад

why bother?

@jamesmullins6681 2 месяца назад

An hour's worth of conversation and not a word on migration and the fulfillment of labor needs through more realistic immigration policies (throughout the world). Not a word on the forced birthing in the US by the removal of women's reproductive rights. Ezra. What does "highly successful" mean?

@jeremy____5747 2 месяца назад

So that's you literally in favor of Replacement Theory.

@garyjohnson8327 2 месяца назад

Ill tell you how to feel about it. It took until 200 yrs ago to each 1 b humans. Then 200 hundred more years ti get to 8 billion. 8,000,000,000. Another 100,000,000 every year (but youre special). This is the stupidest concern i have ever . Most living in poverty, all wanting to live like Americans. We have one planet.

@kreek22 2 месяца назад

Get a grip, Gary. Take your anti-hyterica meds, then take some classes in stats, economics, science, etc.

@reginafisher9919 2 месяца назад

Agree 💯

@harrison6082 2 месяца назад

That's interesting that we have this idea that you have to perfectly plan the whole day with your kid, when maybe you don't have to. Wow. Its interesting that stay at home mothers in the past spent less time with their kids than working moms do today. 39:21 That's a good point. There is less of a community to support you

@zeenohaquo7970 2 месяца назад

Hallelujah

@dalepetersen1166 29 дней назад

A good kid like Taylor Swift will make you money.

@Mt0428 8 дней назад

You realize Taylor Swift’s parents were very wealthy to start with so she had the best opportunities given to her in her life right?

@kitwanaabraham560 Месяц назад

In the animal kingdom, any species that has more food, greater security, and no natural predators will reproduce more; every succeeding generation is guaranteed to be far more numerous than the one before until the food source determines the equilibrium and natural carrying capacity of the land. In western capitalist liberal human societies especially, and those aspiring to become so over the last one hundred and fifty years, once people become richer and more secure, with fewer threats to their health, safety, and longevity, they tend to reproduce less. The all-important question is why. The answer, I believe, lies in the internal psychology of humans with this particular ideological bent. They become hyper materialistic hoarders. Greed, selfishness, individualism, me, me, me, more, and mine become their religion and god.