Fertility Decline: Why Government Cannot Engineer a Baby Boom

As nations across the globe scramble to reverse collapsing birth rates, this talk examines why policy interventions are unlikely to reverse the trend. Dr. Barrows argues that sub-replacement fertility is rooted in a cultural shift that has embraced a false narrative—too often viewing another child as a burden or impediment rather than a gift and source of meaning. Reversing demographic decline is not to be found in policy but rather in re-imagining children as the supreme manifestation of the common good.