Fertility Rates Of The West – Part 1

In newer history, there have been several socio-political and economic movements in the West, each with its advantage and fanfare. The problem is that each and all of them have manufactured the same drawback: a refrain from having children.

These movements are individualism, liberalism,feminism, and consumerism, although they are not directly related. In addition, several social experiments have been initiated which collectively have been termed Cultural Marxism.

Individualism and liberalism have each provided a considerable focus on the potential and freedom of the individual. Thus, they have also promoted the individual’s riddance of the established social structures, including the family and the local community. This may explain the start of the atomized urban society which one can see tendencies towards, where individuals are governed by the market (which is manipulated by finance) and cultural temptations – instead of community building.

Feminism, with its several waves, had a focus on improved civil rights for women. The movement has also promoted women’s riddance of the established social structures and gender roles as they were manifested by nature – and before economy and infrastructure enabled much else. One of the fanfares of feminism was independence from the husband. Thus, women instead became bound to the same overlord as worker men already had for a long time: the boss. Loyalty and focus appear to have gradually shifted away from the nuclear family and household to colleagues and career.

In the post-world war era, economic growth has been a mantra across all political movements. This has undoubtedly provided many economic advantages and has also been responsible for both women and men joining the workforce almost equally. While families prior to the 1970s could cope with one to one-and-a-half income, mainly with the man in fulltime employment, it has now become a financial necessity with both in fulltime employment.

With both young men and women in the workforce, there is less time and resources for, and more reluctance from, establishing a family with children. A paradox here is that household related technology has freed up a lot of time since the 1970s.

In order to become competent and competitive workers, there is a requirement for increasingly higher education, to the extent all of it can be called education. As this becomes the norm, there is a collective shift and inflation of the requirements. In addition, one ought to have had a job for some years to “strengthen one’s CV”. In other words, young people spend most of their biological fertile years in a life situation where the focus isn’t at all to establish a family or have children.

A growth-based economy is rigged for increased consumption, and there is a certain circular mechanism for this. Further, a debt-based monetary system has enabled increased consumption and increased production. This usually results in people buying things they don’t need for money they don’t have. Following this, a large part of life is spent generating enough income to repay debt – plus interest and fees – to the banks.

Continued in Part 2