Pronatalists draw criticism over right-wing ideology

Malcolm and Simone Collins are on a mission to make babies. Lots of babies. “America’s premier pronatalists” have three children — Octavian George, Torsten Savage and Titan Invictus are already part of the brood —  with a little girl, Industry Americus, on the way, said The Guardian. The couple is part of a movement that includes 11-time father Elon Musk, who is worried about the world’s declining birth rates and “focused on producing the maximum number of heirs.” And these baby makers are getting the word out the old-fashioned way: by becoming influencers. “We don’t mind being human clickbait – that’s kind of our job,” said Malcolm.

The Collinses might come off a bit eccentric, but they reflect wider fears. “If current forecasts are accurate, 2064 will be the first year in centuries when fewer babies are born than people die,” said The Economist. Declining fertility in the United States, China, South Korea and Europe — and around the world — will eventually produce an economic disaster. “Sapped of workers and ideas, economic growth could collapse while public debt balloons.” Smaller, aging populations “mean less growth and a more fractious world.” Is the pronatalist movement onto something?