A combination of activists and media doomers have persuaded many that we are all going to die, so let’s not have more kids. However, just as we have always done, we invent solutions. Invention requires people. The babies we are not having now are the future scientists and engineers that will not exist to solve current and future problems. We are shooting humanity in the head because of messaging from fear mongering media and activists. The doomist projections will not have much impact – but the response of doomers to shut down life itself, will have a negative impact.
U.S. fertility rate, over time. As of 2023, it has fallen to as low as 1.7. How did this happen? Wasn’t there going to be a “Population Bomb”? Yes, Paul Ehrlich wrote that book title in 1968 where he forecast a dystopian future, with the world running out of water, food and massive wars killing hundreds of millions. The problem was he was a butterfly biologist – and did not understand that humans invent solutions, breaking through barriers. He also did not realize the fertility rate was plummeting and by 1973, was below replacement level in the United States. Ehrlich was wrong about everything – but his book and talk show routine set modern thought and policy for the next 50 years.
As you can see in this chart, the U.S. fertility rates has been falling for 200 years.
The falling fertility rate has been occurring for over 200 years and is not due to current economic or political issues.
