The Status Anxiety Behind Fertility Decline
Is anti-natalism a luxury belief?
Are falling birthrates good news? Among credentialed elites the answer is often “yes.” Declining fertility is viewed not as a problem but as a sign of progress. Fewer children, the thinking goes, means less strain on the planet, fewer constraints on women and more room for self-expression.
Some cite the “cost of living” as a barrier to child-rearing. But the real cost today is social rather than material.
There is an unspoken reason the same people who decry inequality are the loudest proponents of childlessness. Once you understand why, the whole picture changes: