Tuesday, November 12, 2013

Waiting for a cab and low TFR

I might be wrong but if I consider many such similar situations out there, I must be right often enough.

My guess is the husband had taken the car. He is likely to be a high powered executive. The car is parked in some basement car park now in town. Meanwhile the wifey is waiting out in the rain with a brolly and her kid for a cab.

Had most of them been like my brother who takes the bus to work and leave the car for the family etc, more women would be happier keeping home. But people are selfish and this is more visible for those with power. The man of the of the house usually has more power and his self love shows through more clearly. Sure most men love their families but they love themselves even more. Now as we multiply this across millions of people, guess what? Women prefer to have the same power as men. Get a good education and then a good job. Earn their own keep and own their own rides. Along the way if having children amounted to returning to their mothers' lives, thanks but no thanks. This is clearest in Japanese society.

Easy for LKY to blame the women in Japan, Korea and Singapore for not wanting kids but that is only a small part of the whole picture. Truth is we are all responsible.

Many rich societies will learn the hard way and there are always some lessons that must be learned this way; that having too few kids will lead to huge regret. In the same vein the Americans will get tired of divorce and try harder at keeping their marriages. Some day after bitterly regretting our choice, a new generation will have many kids. Likewise the greatest generation will reappear under the right conditions. History does not repeat itself but it sure rhymes because we always innovate ourselves out of cul de sacs.

Without cheaper energy and better technology we cannot have another chance to have more babies in the distant future.


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