Near the peak of the Baby Boom births per 1000 hit 25.0 in 1955, and over the next 22 years collapsed to 15.1 per 1000 women by 1977, a traditional demarcation year for the beginning of the Millennials. No cohort since 1993 has hit or surpassed the 15.1 level, and Millennials since turning 22 in 1999 haven't done any better. Births to Millennials since 2007 have fallen 12% from 14.3 per 1000 to just 12.6 per 1000, the lowest level in the post-war period. Even during the abortion mania between 1973 and 1976 births per 1000 remained higher than they are under the Millennials.
In shouting No! to reproduction is to be found all our other shouts of No!: to economic growth, to educational advancement, to national greatness, to civility and to religion. In the great cultural handoff after the Second World War, we have fumbled the ball and wandered off the field.
If we believed in the future, we would be creating it.
If we believed in the future, we would be creating it.
Next stop, oblivion.
