Reference News website reported on May 9 that the Australian "Pearl and Provocation" website published an article on April 14 with the title "No Children, No Future", written by Don Edgar and Patricia Edgar. Compiled as follows:

Imagine a world without children, like the one depicted in P.D. James' dystopian novel "Children of Men", where the population continues to decline.

A general decline in birth rates

The continuously declining birth rates and decreasing willingness to marry are sounding alarms worldwide, especially for South Korea and Japan.

In the United States, the total fertility rate (the average number of children per woman over her lifetime) has dropped to 1.6. Restoring marriage and family as the basic elements of society is listed as an important goal in Donald Trump's blueprint "Plan 2025". One method is to ban abortion. High marriage rate and high fertility rate communities will also receive more grants. However, resetting the agenda is not easy.

Efforts from other countries have also failed to stop the trend of declining birth rates. Women are increasingly resistant to being driven by patriarchal notions to take full-time care of children, manage households, and submit to men who provide for the family.

Gideon Lewis-Kraus pointed out in his March 3 article in The New Yorker that a total fertility rate below 2.1, the generational replacement level, will bring unprecedented consequences to society.

South Korea's declining birth rate is the most evident, with a total fertility rate of 0.7, the lowest in the world. If this trend continues, South Korea will see only 12 grandchildren born for every 100 fertile individuals. Former daycare centers are being converted into nursing homes, and declining enrollment numbers mean children in schools hardly play team games anymore.

Japan's total fertility rate is 1.3. Young women are unwilling to marry, unwilling to be controlled by domineering mothers-in-law, unwilling to see their husbands return home drunk after long hours of overtime with male colleagues or relaxing after work, and vent their anger on themselves.

Italy, though a Catholic country, worries about its "inevitable disappearance" due to low birth rates.

Global population will continue to grow for half a century, but then it will enter a period of contraction. Immigration will become a sought-after resource, the only way to revitalize the population. Some Central Asian countries and Sub-Saharan African countries have high birth rates, but they are also showing a downward trend.

In Australia's first Intergenerational Report (2002), then Treasurer Peter Costello urged Australians to "have one for mum, one for dad, and one for the country." His words had no effect.

Complex reasons for declining birth rates

Different explanations for the collapse of birth rates focus on several aspects: high housing costs; high child-rearing costs due to education and special needs; men lagging behind their peers in employment, work, and mental health, while women tend to seek partners of equal or higher status; young people's strong career aspirations make it difficult for both men and women to find suitable partners; many women who want to get married feel pressured about how to share child-rearing responsibilities.

In South Korea, approximately 85% of children attend expensive private schools. We also see this trend in Australia, as public school funding has been severely cut. The increase in single-child families and various child-rearing advice have prompted Korean parents to compete in sending their children to costly extracurricular classes, including math, foreign languages, piano, dance, and taekwondo classes, hoping to gain competitive advantages for their children when applying to universities. High housing costs delay young people moving out of their parents' homes, slowing down the transition from adolescence to responsible adulthood. Additionally, the educational process aimed at employment takes much longer than before.

However, persistent workplace discrimination (referring to women earning less than men) and many men refusing to take parental leave (such as in Sweden), sharing household chores, or taking care of children seem to be equally important factors. If the phenomena of unfair pay and unequal job opportunities continue to promote the model of men supporting the family, then long-term norms regarding male/female roles will be difficult to change. However, the trap of housewives rejecting such lifestyles often leads to unhappy lives and broken marriages.

Now, social media is exacerbating the contradictions triggered by the sexual revolution. Both sexes are becoming increasingly isolated. Jess Hill's article published in April 2025 in Australia's Quadrant revealed a shocking reality: 28% of males aged 18 to 30 have used at least one form of physical or sexual violence against their partners.

How to reverse the downward trend

All solutions seem reasonable, but they have proven to be ineffective. In Australia, men and women should equally use parental leave, recognizing parenting as a shared responsibility of both parents.

Government-subsidized formal childcare services should recognize that childcare is an important and necessary social welfare activity, not just an individual responsibility. Childcare workers should receive good training and generous compensation.

Housing should include spaces for children to live and play. Criticism of maternal-infant attachment theory should extend beyond academic journals.

Employers should view flexible working arrangements more positively, replacing the notion that "working in the office means high-quality work" with productivity metrics.

Providing free, high-quality public school education for all is an essential measure, which will reduce living costs for many families.

Well-designed suburban housing, safer roads, and public spaces can promote the return of outdoor play and activities, increasing everyone's sense of responsibility toward children. (Compiled/Master Ziyuan)

Original source: https://www.toutiao.com/article/7502314181455184422/

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