I have written a lot of articles about the anti-natalism of the Left.
You see it everywhere, and the movement started sometime back in the 1960s, with Paul Ehrlich, The Club of Rome’s zeal about “overpopulation,” forced abortions and sterilization in China and the third-world, usually funded through Western foreign aid, the push for abortion and birth control, and most recently the promotion of Dual-Income-No-Kids lifestyles.
Speaking on a World Economic Forum panel, UN “Messenger of Peace”, Jane Goodall, advocates reducing the global population down to 450 million—a 95% reduction from today’s population:
“We cannot hide away from human population growth. Because, you know, it underlies so many of… pic.twitter.com/kAZnq3SokJ
— Wide Awake Media (@wideawake_media) September 2, 2023
Even though this movement has been driven by ideology, not by any serious problem that science backs up, the fact is that this propaganda and these horrific public policies have worked. There are very few countries with replacement birth rates, and some countries are literally on the path to near extinction.
Elon Musk: “There’s a lot of things that I worry about. The birth rate is very low in almost every country and unless that changes, civilization will disappear. America had the lowest birth rate ever. That was last year. Humanity is dying.”pic.twitter.com/NzlDCDzpPT
— Department of Government Efficiency News (@DOGE__news) April 22, 2025
Fertility rates have plunged everywhere, and while some decline in fertility is to be expected as economies modernize and modern medicine increases lifespan and reduces infant deaths, the falloff is so great that it is civilization threatening.
🇺🇸 FERTILITY DECLINE HITS ALL 50 STATES — NEW LOWS NATIONWIDE
The US fertility rate dropped to an all-time low of 54.5 births per 1,000 women in 2023 — less than half its 1957 peak of 122.9.
All 50 states saw declines between 2005 and 2022. Utah had the sharpest drop at -33.9%,… https://t.co/PtALYoyUSP pic.twitter.com/EQGEhz09bZ
— Mario Nawfal (@MarioNawfal) April 22, 2025
The US fertility rate dropped to an all-time low of 54.5 births per 1,000 women in 2023 — less than half its 1957 peak of 122.9.
All 50 states saw declines between 2005 and 2022. Utah had the sharpest drop at -33.9%, while Louisiana saw the smallest change at just -0.3%.
Fertility rates fell for women under 35 and rose for women over 35. Women aged 30–34 now have the highest birth rate at 95.1 per 1,000, replacing the 25–29 group.
Top 2022 fertility states: South Dakota (66.5), Alaska (64.9), Nebraska (63.6).
Lowest: Vermont (44.3), Delaware (44.9), Oregon (47.3).
Source: USAFacts, CDC
Elon Musk is obsessed with ensuring the future of humanity by making it a multi-planetary civilization, but he is absolutely correct to worry that we are in danger of not even being a civilization at all.
At the root of this problem is the collapse of belief in a higher purpose for our lives. While, as a practical matter, that refers to the increasing dilution of religious belief, you could generalize it and avoid unnecessary controversy and simply call it a lack of belief that our lives have any higher purpose than pursuing pleasures of some kind or another.
“Happiness” has been redefined as “pleasure,” be it sexual satisfaction, stimulation of any kind, be it entertainment, excitement, drugs, gluttony, or anything that satisfies our appetitive natures. If you watch the DINK videos that are everywhere–go to YouTube and you will see many, including lots of approving news stories–the positives of DINKism are all about consumption of some kind or another.
Life is now defined as the pursuit of satisfaction itself. There is no higher purpose.
It’s no coincidence that Classical music–most music, until recently–was usually written to honor God or some form of greatness. Many of the greatest works of music we now listen to for pleasure were written with a religious backdrop or intent.
Art, these days, is mostly about pleasure. I don’t want to knock it–I like pop music just fine–but let’s face it, almost none of it celebrates anything higher than getting some nookie.
Human beings are unlikely to go extinct, but degenerating into a society that more mirrors Brave New World in which everybody is drugged up and little of consequence is ever accomplished, is, to me at least, horrific. Peace, prosperity, and a relatively easy path to satisfying our basic needs are all well and good, but chopping the top off the hierarchy of needs Maslow categorized is a disaster for humanity.
If we are going to revive our fertility, if only to keep our civilization alive, we need to revive our belief in a higher purpose for life. For some, that will be family and carrying on the family name, for others it is exploring new worlds and stretching the boundaries, and for others it is art or worship. But if life remains defined as the pursuit of goods and pleasure, leading to an easy death through euthanasia once that pursuit is impossible or boring, all that made the hard climb up to a great civilization will be wasted.
Giving people bonuses for having babies won’t work–it has been tried. Giving people a purpose is our only chance. Striving is what makes us human, not wallowing in pleasure.
