What ACTUALLY Caused the Baby Boom?... It Wasn't (really) WWII

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The baby boomers are the largest and wealthiest generation to have ever existed.
They have shaped the world to their liking and have held onto global power for longer than they arguably should have, but that was only possible because they outnumbered everybody else.
But what caused the baby boom?
As our world struggles with aging and shrinking populations from Texas to Tokyo we could potentially use some of that booming right now.
The world has actually been in this position before, before the last baby boom fertility rates were dropping rapidly but then a few things turned it around.
The usual story you have probably heard is that the baby boom was the result of lot’s of soldiers coming back from the second world war and getting BUSY starting a family.
This…is only half true…
The easiest way to see the flaw in this logic is that after the FIRST world war, there were no extra babies to be found.
So, if the baby-boom didn’t start after World War II, when did it start?
The mid-1930s.
Can that be right?
Why would birth rates explode during an economic disaster as great as ‘The Great Depression’?
You’re probably thinking ‘the more money the lower the fertility rate’.
If so, then congratulate yourself on thinking like a 20th-century economist!
Unfortunately, that’s not the complete picture.
After almost a century of investigation, it turns out that thinking financial hardship motivates child birth is WRONG.
There’s a lot to being a boomer than you might think.
Turns out it’s more than being self-centered and technologically illiterate.
Records show the spike in birth rates was NOT because returning soldiers were eager to get busy. Instead, it shows that the rise in population coincides with the rise of Hitler.
Not because of Hitler, of course. Let’s get that clear!
Instead, the rise in births was because of a lot of factors coming together in the lead-up to World War II.
It wasn’t solely down to the defeat of Nazi Germany.
Some of these factors that created the baby bombs are completely counter-intuitive and multi-faceted.
So, what are the elements that decide whether a population goes boom or bust?
First, we need to look at what happened before the 1930s, which means we’re immediately dealing with the impact of industrialization on family life.
Then we’ll examine the attitudes to wealth generation after Hitler assassinated Hitler.
Afterwards, we’ll look at the effects on post-war legislation on family support and social welfare and which had the most influence.
And finally, we’ll look at why birth rates started to fall and whether they’ll bounce back.
After all, we’re seeing a repeat of conditions that led up to the baby-boom.
Things like an aging population, unaffordable housing, and wealth inequality.


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