A recent study published in Scientific Reports suggests that political beliefs are increasingly linked to the number of children Americans choose to have. The findings indicate that while conservative individuals tend to maintain birth rates near historical averages, left-leaning individuals are having significantly fewer children. This demographic trend provides evidence that differing birth rates are a main driver of recent fertility declines in the United States.
The data revealed a pronounced change in how political beliefs relate to family size. For individuals born in the early 1900s, political orientation had almost no association with the number of children they had. However, beginning with the cohort born between 1943 and 1947, a massive divergence emerged.
“We expected these results, but not to such a dramatic extent,” Fieder told PsyPost. From the mid-century cohorts onward, individuals with right-wing political views maintained birth rates at or slightly above the replacement level. The replacement level, typically considered to be 2.1 children per woman, is the rate needed for a population to replace itself from one generation to the next without immigration.
In contrast, the birth rates of left-wing individuals dropped sharply, falling well below the replacement level in the more recent cohorts. The authors noticed this drop aligns with historical changes in family planning. “We found that the gap began with the introduction of modern contraception,” Fieder said.
Children born to conservative parents arent doomed to be conservative the rest of their lives.
I don’t like this insinuation that it’s women’s fault if conservatives (correction: the “irrational”) take over because they are choosing to not have children.
I know many children of conservative parents, and many of them are, in fact, conservative. Not that they’ve given it much thought. Still, it contributes to a rightward trend.
But when did I say anything about anything being anyone’s “fault”? Again, you’re misconstruing my point.
When you say “I understand why people don’t want to have kids, but if they don’t we’re going to invite the plot of Idiocracy”, what do you think that implies?
I think women’s autonomy is more important than the scare-mongering line that conservatives are going to take over if left-leaning women don’t have kids.
One of the main reasons for the falling birth rates is women having more choice over their bodies. So when you talk about how we should have more children to outnumber conservatives, that does directly imply we should look at ways to make left-leaning women have more children.
I was honestly engaging in a conversation with you and asking you questions. Simply saying I’m misconstruing your point does not clarify what you actually meant.
Nothing? It means what it means. I’m not trying to imply anything, I’m not saying anyone should do anything, I’m just observing the consequences of a trend.
The world rarely offers situations with tidy solutions. “It is possible to make no mistakes and still lose”. Yes, women deserve autonomy to reproduce, or not, as they choose. And yes, if it’s primarily left-leaning women deciding not to reproduce, while right-leaning women reproduce a lot, then demographics are likely to shift over time. These are simply two facts to keep in mind, it’s not a rallying cry to enforce leftist breeding.
You don’t think having conversations around these ideas are platforming them in a way?
This is the kind of rhetoric that is used to take away women’s rights whether it’s your intent or not. Talking about how women are dooming our society because they aren’t having children is a stance you took with that comment.
You can shrug and say it’s observing a trend, but there’s so many factors that go into why someone is conservative or leftist. Parenting is just one small fraction of that.
No I don’t. And, again, I never talked about “how women are dooming our society”. This is what I’m talking about when I say you’re misconstruing the point.
You understand not wanting kids. BUT society will turn into Idiocracy…if what? If left-leaning women don’t start having more kids is the implied point you are making with this statement.
Your comment makes it obvious that this is a concern to you. Usually people look for solutions to problems they are worried about, right? You’re pushing this is a problem that women aren’t having enough children to counter conservatives having children.
This is a manufactured problem.
Once again, the world rarely involves tidy solutions. I repeat once again that I am not implying a solution, I am simply observing that sometimes rational people making rational decisions have negative consequences. You’ve made a lot of assumptions to twist that into claims I never made. I really don’t appreciate that.
…yeah this isn’t a comment made in a vacuum. This directly implies that women’s choices are leading to negative consequences.
My point is that I don’t think the falling birth rates are a problem at all.