Monday, September 8, 2014

Declining Population Part III: Why Do We Have a Declining Population?


In much of the world, people have stopped having the number of children society needs in order to grow and remain healthy and flourishing. Today we answer the question: Why?

We discussed in Part I that the fertility rate must be 2.1 in order for a population to at least remain stable: every woman in the society, on average, must produce one child to replace herself and one to replace a man. In addition, one woman in 10 must have a third child to compensate for infant deaths and slightly higher birth rates among males. Those numbers aren’t materializing; the US has a Caucasian birth rate of 1.65 with an overall US birth rate of 1.9. Much of Europe falls lower than that, with Italy at 1.26. These numbers are a serious concern as we face the prospect of cultures courting extinction if these numbers don’t change.

Population decline is also at the root of our economic woes.  W e are not producing enough people to consume goods and offer the needed services. Population growth produces economic growth; population decline creates a declining economy.

There are two major reasons for our alarming worldwide population decline.

The first takes us back to the economy. As prosperity falters, people fear they cannot afford to have children, so they don’t. Economic decline becomes a self-fulfilling prophecy: We don’t have the money, so we don’t have the children, so we don’t have goods being consumed or new services being offered. Creativity and innovation stumble, optimism for the future wanes, and the population declines further in a circular progression that is hard to stop. Sweden has been locked into this spiral for generations, and even serious government intervention hasn’t helped. To encourage births, the Swedish government pays all prenatal and delivery costs, gives the mother a paid year off after a birth, and a monthly stipend for each child until age 18. With all that, Sweden’s fertility rate stands at 1.5, dangerously below replacement levels.

The second reason takes us to religion. Much of the Western world has abandoned Christianity to embrace secular humanism, the “religion” where man worships himself. Under humanism, man puts himself and his wants at the center of existence. These beliefs are opposed to Christian principles, which include a belief in God as a loving Father, a purpose for life and a hereafter, consequences for sin, and a time when we will account for our actions and our treatment of others. Those beliefs all lead us to create families, to think of others, and to structure our lives in ways that build society. Humanism, by contrast, accepts no God and no hereafter with accountability for personal actions. While humanists believe people should treat others well, without the moral force of a divine, universal authority to which we answer if we misuse others, there is little consequence for selfishness. Power-hungry people can rise to prominence, and selfishness expands. The divine, God-given reason for having children doesn’t exist, and children are a hindrance unless one happens to want them. In a culture where humanist principles are expanding, the reasons for having children are contracting.

Demographic experts tell us there is every reason to believe Western populations will continue to decline, probably at even steeper rates than the last 50 years, when population worldwide has decreased by 50%. With the ugly consequences of socialism coming home to roost in most of Europe, economies are, and will surely continue to, decline. With the US debt levels escalating rapidly our economy is guaranteed to take a serious nosedive, bringing economic and population troubles we can only faintheartedly imagine.

In addition, the world seems determined to abandon Christian principles for secular hedonism. As people become increasingly self-absorbed, children will become increasingly burdensome. The future possibilities for a thriving economy and a thriving birthrate appear gloomy.

For years, population fearmongers have flogged public opinion with their bogus issue. It was never real. Those of us who knew God doesn’t overpopulate the worlds He creates tried to tell them so. Worrisome declines in fertility rates have taken up the dialogue, and the statistics are hard to dismiss.

Pamela's new Ebook, "Promises of the Constitution:"  http://www.amazon.com/Promises-Constitution-Yesterday-Today-Tomorrow-ebook/dp/B00LEWCS4E/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1407776265&sr=8-1&keywords=ebook+promises+of+the+constitution  

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