I think we need to accept that humans really just don’t want (many) kids, and that the so-called ‘urge to procreate’ is really just the ‘urge to have sex’ - and unlike 500 years ago they are no longer the same thing. We can choose to have all the sex we want without becoming pregnant. That is what people want, and it has nothing to do with affordability.
Sure, money might be one factor of many for some people, but if money was really the main issue, then rich countries would have a higher fertility rate, right? Rich people would have more kids, right? Well, the opposite is true. People getting richer, more educated, having better access to healthcare, and last but not least: women obtaining more rights… All of this has made it so people have fewer children. Are we really going to keep deluding ourselves and write it all off as a financial issue? People nowadays are not poorer than in the past. All throughout history poor people have been having kids. It’s just that now they have a choice. And they choose not to.
tl;dr I think what has changed is that people (read: women) have a choice now and they simply choose not to have (as many) kids.
I think we need to accept that humans really just don’t want (many) kids, and that the so-called ‘urge to procreate’ is really just the ‘urge to have sex’ - and unlike 500 years ago they are no longer the same thing. We can choose to have all the sex we want without becoming pregnant. That is what people want, and it has nothing to do with affordability.
Sure, money might be one factor of many for some people, but if money was really the main issue, then rich countries would have a higher fertility rate, right? Rich people would have more kids, right? Well, the opposite is true. People getting richer, more educated, having better access to healthcare, and last but not least: women obtaining more rights… All of this has made it so people have fewer children. Are we really going to keep deluding ourselves and write it all off as a financial issue? People nowadays are not poorer than in the past. All throughout history poor people have been having kids. It’s just that now they have a choice. And they choose not to.
tl;dr I think what has changed is that people (read: women) have a choice now and they simply choose not to have (as many) kids.