Summary in Plain Language
This article goes beyond the common clichés such as “young people being too selfish” or “the high cost of raising children” and delves into the underlying reasons for the extremely low birth rate. In the past, people rushed to have children, not because of traditional beliefs, but because the social norms of that time tightly linked childbearing with individual and family survival—without children, life would be impossible. However, with modernization, the societal logic has completely changed, encouraging individual independence and the pursuit of personal achievements. Childbearing has become a “loss-making endeavor” that hinders personal progress. The recent wave of digitalization has further exacerbated this contradiction, leading to a sharp decline in birth rates. In short, the low birth rate is not an inevitable consequence of social progress; it is a result of our current development model that focuses on individual competition. Simply offering a few hundred yuan in childcare subsidies will not solve the problem.
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Detailed Analysis
1. All previous explanations for “young people not wanting to have children” only scratched the surface
The analyses we usually hear about childbearing are not entirely wrong: on the behavioral level, younger people are getting married and having children later, and many struggle to find partners or have health issues that prevent conception; economically, raising children requires significant expenses, and taking maternity leave can lead to job losses; culturally, young people want to live their own lives and do not want to be tied down by children.
However, these are all consequences, not the reasons. It’s like discovering that a light isn’t working and only realizing the old light bulb is broken, without realizing that the entire electrical system in the building has been changed, making the old bulb incompatible. The most significant insight of this article is that childbearing has never been a personal choice but a product of a complex social system. Fei Xiaotong once said that childbearing is essentially “self-sacrificing for the benefit of others,” requiring a lot of time, money, and energy. Without the support and encouragement of societal norms, no one would willingly have children.
2. In traditional society, there was no need to encourage childbearing; it was a matter of survival
In the “status society” of the past, childbearing was closely tied to survival:
- All family resources were passed down from generation to generation—land, skills, official positions, and even influence in the village. Without children, one would have no one to support them in old age, and their family’s land would be taken away, meaning their livelihood would be cut off. Having many children was a matter of family prosperity, not just a feudal superstition but a reality of survival.
- Gender roles were rigid: women could not work outside and had to rely on marriage and childbirth to obtain resources, leaving them with no choice but to become mothers.
Under these rules, there was no need for promotion of childbearing; everyone would naturally strive to have children because not having them would mean losing their place in society.
3. Modernization has completely changed the foundation of childbearing, creating a paradox
After the Industrial Revolution, societal norms shifted: production was no longer controlled by families. You didn’t need to inherit your father’s tools or skills; you could earn money through education, working in factories, or companies. Social security provided for old age, and job opportunities were based on your qualifications, not your family background. The focus shifted from “inheriting family traditions” to “competing on personal abilities.”
These new rules are in direct conflict with the needs of childbearing:
- Society encourages you to be independent and competitive, to attend prestigious schools, work long hours, and devote all your energy to personal success. However, childbearing requires you to return to the family, to adapt to another person, and to sacrifice years of your life and savings for your children, which hinders your personal advancement.
- The traditional gender roles have collapsed: women can earn money on their own and do not need to rely on men for support. Yet, the lack of public support for childcare means that the costs of raising children fall largely on small families. Both partners need to work and earn income, making it difficult to balance career and family, leading to a lack of cooperation in childbearing.
4. The digital age has accelerated the decline in birth rates
Have you noticed that since 2015, birth rates have plummeted in China, Japan, South Korea, and the EU? This coincides with the widespread adoption of smartphones and video platforms, which have eroded the last remnants of the societal support for childbearing:
- Informationally, algorithms constantly show negative stories about the challenges of parenting, such as conflicts with in-laws and infidelity, leading many to see childbearing as a loss-making endeavor.
- Experientially, living alone has become increasingly convenient with services like delivery, streaming, and social networking, eliminating the need to compromise for others. The convenience of a solitary life has reduced the appeal of marriage and childbearing.
5. The low birth rate is not an inevitable outcome; it’s a result of our current development model
The article concludes that the low birth rate is not a inevitable consequence of societal evolution but a result of our current development model that emphasizes individual competition and profit maximization. Current policies to encourage childbearing, such as subsidies and maternity leave, only address the surface issues. As long as people still work long hours and bear most of the costs of raising children, and housing remains scarce, no one will willingly sacrifice their quality of life for children. Only when societal norms change—such as the state covering the costs of childcare and reducing the pressure to work long hours—might childbearing become a choice again. In short, young people’s reluctance to have children is not a moral issue or laziness; it’s simply the most suitable lifestyle within the current system.