Is The “Fertility Crisis” Tied To A Decline In American Hope?

Well, it’s way more complicated than that, but there’s certainly something to this narrative.

First off, I put “fertility crisis” in quotes above because while it’s true that the birth rate (“live births per woman”) is declining, you could also argue that’s a good thing in some ways. We have a lot of people in the world. In America, hell, I mean strip malls feel crowded all the time. Is this a panic? Sure. A moral panic? Maybe not yet. But it does get discussed a lot.

There has been some framing around whether the decline is tied to a loss in American Hope, I.e. “I am not hopeful and thus cannot bring children, or as many children, into this cruel world.” I think that narrative is probably a little bit overblown, but then again, it does vary by individual decision-makers, I.e. women and their sexual partners, be that husband or boyfriend or one-nighter. I cannot speak for everyone.

Trump has used the “lack of hope” thing on the campaign trail a few times, saying we’re not having “beautiful babies” because of this supposed decline in hope. Good talking point for the aggrieved, absolutely, especially guys who have literally nothing else to hang their hat on but their four kids, two of whom won’t speak to them in adulthood. I…