“A nation is only as strong as the individual families therein. The fearmongering about population numbers obscures the fact that we should live the same when there is demographic decline as when there is population growth: we should serve our families well…”

A diverse coalition is concerned with our demographic decline, but we need to be careful not to choose solutions that create worse problems.

• Anna Reynolds
• https://crisismagazine.com/opinion/real-population-growth-means-strong-faith-filled-families

There is a surprising coalition dancing in the streets following the reelection of Donald Trump. We cannot say that the group of political actors involved with Trump’s victory are “conservative” generally. The Republican Party has come to include such a wide range of diverse worldviews, many of which bear no resemblance to a conservative social outlook and lack sound moral philosophy. If this is conservatism, it is a new brand.

A common thread developing between previously disparate political groups is concern with demographic decline. As of 2022, the birth rate in the United States is 1.66, well below the 2.1 needed for replacement. This is concerning for many reasons. One, which has brought together an interesting assortment of tech millionaires and economists, is that the basis for our economy is growth. As the population contracts, economic systems as we know them become untenable and international tensions will likely escalate as countries compete for immigration.

The concern is not only economic, however. A nation that is aging has a different character. The populace becomes more risk averse and less likely to produce technological advancement. As I heard from someone who visited South Korea—where the birth rate has dropped to .78 per woman—a place with few children can feel sterile; the streets are clean and quiet but lifeless. 

You don’t have to fly to Korea for that experience; a trip to a “gray” parish in the United States, a parish where the median age at Sunday Mass hovers around 70, will show you what an aging population feels like. This observation is not meant as an ageist slight against people in such parishes but a recognition of the importance of children in a healthy society.

What is the response to this crisis from the new Right? 

In the frenzy of the presidential campaign trail, both sides made extravagant promises for entitlements. Disturbingly, Trump promised to fund in vitro fertilization (IVF) through tax dollars. His casual support for this morally unacceptable medical technology reveals the likely opinion of the majority of Americans. The focus for many is on the psychological suffering of infertile couples, pain that is real and undeniable. As one mother confused about IVF told me, “How can it be wrong to bring new life into the world?”

Yet, a desire to alleviate a couple’s suffering cannot come at the expense of the moral order. Separating the conception of a child from his natural parents is an injustice to the child. This fact reveals the challenges in partnering with elites who share a concern about the immanent demographic collapse but lack moral formation to address it in a humane way.