August 29, 2007

Why is Europe experiencing such a reduction in birth rates? Noah Pollack observes that European birthrates are in a freefall in many nations – a trend that could well bring economic disaster. Then he suggests a reason why:

People avoid having children not because they are irreligious, lack financial means, fear the possibility of divorce, or carry university degrees. Rather, people do not have children because they do not want them: They find the curtailment of personal freedom and the assumption of the decades-long obligation inherent in parenthood unattractive, and they do not want to accept the basic restructuring of life that having a family requires.

This is an important insight. Pollack observes that people who adopt a worldview of personal fulfillment will see children as an imposition they would rather avoid. Children present parents with needs and require incredible time and attention. Millions of Europeans are simply opting out.

Barren worldviews lead to barren wombs. 

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