Demographics: The Lifeline of A Nation

Fire of Liberty
Phillip Longman, a fellow at the New American Foundation and author of The Empty Cradle, has a good piece in USA Today that points out that folks living on the coasts and considerably blue state regions of America are less likely to have children(one at most) while the folks in the heartland and red states are generally more inclined to have massive families (three or more kids) thus creating a situation in which America tends to be heading towards a more conservative hue. In fact Longman points out that this baby boom amongst the more conservative segments of America could set off another great cycle in history. Here's a sample of Longman's excellent Op/Ed:

What's the difference between Seattle and Salt Lake City? There are many differences, of course, but here's one you might not know. In Seattle, there are nearly 45% more dogs than children. In Salt Lake City, there are nearly 19% more kids than dogs.

This curious fact might at first seem trivial, but it reflects a much broader and little-noticed demographic trend that has deep implications for the future of global culture and politics. It's not that people in a progressive city such as Seattle are so much fonder of dogs than are people in a conservative city such as Salt Lake City. It's that progressives are so much less likely to have children.

It's a pattern found throughout the world, and it augers a far more conservative future -— one in which patriarchy and other traditional values make a comeback, if only by default. Childlessness and small families are increasingly the norm today among progressive secularists. As a consequence, an increasing share of all children born into the world are descended from a share of the population whose conservative values have led them to raise large families.

Today, fertility correlates strongly with a wide range of political, cultural and religious attitudes. In the USA, for example, 47% of people who attend church weekly say their ideal family size is three or more children. By contrast, 27% of those who seldom attend church want that many kids.

In Utah, where more than two-thirds of residents are members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, 92 children are born each year for every 1,000 women, the highest fertility rate in the nation. By contrast Vermont -— the first to embrace gay unions - has the nation's lowest rate, producing 51 children per 1,000 women.

For me, I'm glad that folks in America are busy keeping the birthrate high so we won't be seeing the demise of our country much like the Europeans are experiencing. I might beg to differ on a certain amount of Longman's take on the growth of America(With regards to religion and politics. He's a liberal but a good one.) but it's a good and thoughtful piece on demographics. I highly recommend you head over to Foreign Policy and read a much longer version of Longman USA Today Op/Ed. You might learn a thing or two. Also check out his book The Empty Cradle: How Falling Birthrates Threaten World Prosperity and What to Do About It as well as Ben Wattenberg's Fewer.