Japan's birth rate plunge to lowest level ever recorded !

Agree with most of the rest of your appraisal, but would like to nit pick this part.
Work can be counterproductive to the economy.

Mole rat theory.
In a mole rat nest. One adult does all the hunting. The other ten essentially hibernate until the nest is attacked.

Jobs for jobs sake, are bad for the economy. It costs resources to move.
A "non-job" is counterproductive.

 

I think that there are always things that humans can do for one another. Certain cultural or political forces can hinder this capability, but it is there.

You won't catch me advocating for "non-jobs." I know people in their mid-20s who have contributed nothing at all, never held a job, and aren't moving towards getting one. This is a significant failure of our social system, and no simplistic politically motivated answer can solve the problem. My ideal answer would be significant de-regulation coupled with a universal basic income that is absolutely universal.

But what I want to happen and what will happen are two very different things. Things will continue to be inefficient, significant portions of the populace will remain non-productive, but we will manage. Labor availability will continue to be an important player in economic growth... just not such as it was during the 19th century.

As for Japan, it will be fine. More than fine, it will be the real mover in East Asia. The dynamics occurring in China have an almost unavoidable outcome: Fracturing. Jinping's anti-corruption campaign can more honestly be seen as an attempt to curb the power of the coastal elites. The catch is that if economic growth continues to occur in China that coastal elite will ultimately mount a regionalist counter-campaign. Japan will be happy to fuel this process, and in so doing become economic masters of the coastal Chinese. The coastal Chinese will continue to develop and Japan will have access to cheap labor.

 

It s massive immigration pre-war and post-war that made USA "a geopolitical juggernaut".

Currently, Sweden's current population growth rate ~1% exceeds that of the USA ~ 0.7%. In fact the USA birth rate is below replacement level and it is only immigration that is causing population growth.

Sweden's birth rate 1.88 per woman is about the same as the USA; below replacement rate ~2.1 births per woman.

 

It's not massive immigration, but massive population, that makes the US more powerful than Sweden. Yes, massive immigration is WHY the US has such a massive population, but Sweden has about a millennia of catching up to do.

Most importantly: Europeans have a difficult time solving the problem of national identity. This is certainly a problem for Americans too, but not on the same scale, at least not yet. For this reason the Americans will have an easier time inducing immigration into the country than Europeans. This will help us weather mid-century well, but will result in a severe political problem, American-Mexican ambiguity. The center of Mexican culture will shift from the Valley of Mexico to northern Mexico and the Southwestern United States. These peoples are likely to challenge both the authority of Washington D.C. and Mexico City, and may well drag our two countries to war.

All countries face their problems. Our Big One lies about three generations into the future. China and Russia face theirs right now, and are unlikely to survive unbroken.

 

One thing Japan is worried about a decline in the future labor force and the prospects of possibly needing to loosen up immigration standards. They really, really, really don’t like foreigners living in their country, but they’ve already begun loosen some of those standards in the last few years.

 

How did you arrive at this response, lol? Wow

 

<Reply to Deleted>

Over the past 2 decades the ER in my hospital cannot keep up with the demands of the expanding population. The same goes for every other unit including my NICU. <Rule 3>

 

In Japan, most employees are extremely loyal and often work art only 1 company their entire lives. Hourly workers do not work themselves to death. Salaried professionals work a ridiculous amount.

 

Well Channe was bemoaning the loss of the dictatorship era of imperial japan where women were effectively property.

 

That is changing. It has created an increasing class of "irregular" workers who aren't considered attractive mates since they don't have what's considered a solid job.

 

It seemed to me in my travels that no matter the job, the person executed it to the best of their abilities. Also, they have some of the best looking servers or cashiers on the planet. Japanese males are insane if these women's occupation is holding them back. If females are neglecting dudes because they have a menial job, then they need to get it together as well.

 

I think there were too many people on a small island and the declining population will benefit the country in the long run. For instance, getting into elite universities is much easier now because there are less applicants and some universities are closing down some of their departments due to the lack of students. New college graduates are almost certain to land a job upon graduation, too, as the job market is less competitive. Japan is getting more multicultural and there are over 2 million Asian workers to make up for the labor shortage.

 

no need to view people as property - that's a progressive democratic ideal.
I do believe in gender roles though.

 

Except feudal Japan that you so lament being gone did exact that: viewed women as property.

The gender roles you believe in is that women should be second class citizens with no control over their own bodies, no political franchise, and no rights.

 

No deflection. You first. You won’t be missed.

 

Russia already has it.

 

Yes they do have a declining rate of birth but still with 145,000,000 of the little buggers thatbjs 145,000,000 too such.

 

Probably the O.P.'s dumbazs assertion about feminism in Japan being the cause.

 

One is as valid as the other



Correlation does not necessarily equal causation

 

Define "property" - if you mean feudal Japan demanded that women be first a wife then mother, then that's fine by me. Feudal Japan also demanded men be the protector and bread winner of the family. Not sure why you're bitter.

 

Post #46 about sums it up nicely.

 

Demanded and used force to ensure compliance. So you have no problem with beating and raping women who don’t submit to your ideal for them.

 

Funny how the only thing progressives think of when it comes to compliance is violence (i.e; rape/beating). Humans are tribal, and shaming and ostracizing is an innate and proven tactic. That is why the left is so against 'shaming.'

Before 1950, the world was patriarchal and nationalistic.

 

Thank goodness at least some of us have moved on

But anytime you would like to go bavk to the good old days all you have to do is move to an area of the world where women are of less value than pigs

 

And Japan limited itself to shaming and ostracizing? No it didn’t. Women were the property of their father to be married off against their will and then once married had no right to their bodies and were forced to submit to their husbands. No laws against marital rape, no laws against wife beating.

And you wish those times could come again.