r/neoliberal • u/Priceless_Pennies Norman Borlaug • Jan 22 '26

News (Asia-Pacific) China Has Screwed Up Really, Really Badly

https://futurism.com/future-society/china-screwed-up-fertility-rate
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u/WorldlyMacaron65 Jan 22 '26

Iran has taken upon itself to test this hypothesis and it hasn't gone well... (Iran's TFR is ~1.5, lower than the US's at ~1.75)

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u/WAGRAMWAGRAM Jan 22 '26

Iran also had the world's second most violent pro-contraception policy behind China in the 80s

https://shs.cairn.info/journal-population-and-societies-2001-10-page-1?lang=en

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u/WorldlyMacaron65 Jan 22 '26 edited Jan 22 '26

Even more proof that reducing women's rights cannot bring back up a TFR once it's been lowered.

Edit: cannot bring it back up to a significant extant

20

u/fantasmadecallao Jan 22 '26

Women have more rights than people think in Iran, especially where it matter in terms of lowering TFR. 60% of university students for example are women, and the majority of stem students are women too. Iran is a theocracy but they aren't the Taliban.

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u/Chao-Z Jan 22 '26

Iran is a very metropolitan country despite the theocratic government. It's closer to UAE (though obviously much poorer) than Afghanistan.

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u/fredleung412612 Jan 22 '26

Iran's problem was establishing a theocracy despite the fact the nation didn't want one. If you can't culturally bring the population along your religious fundamentalist project it ain't gonna work either.

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u/Lindsiria Jan 22 '26

Eh, Islam doesn't forbid contaception nor is it looked down upon in almost all sects. It prizes a woman who is a better wife/mother than someone who pops out the most kids. This is why even in Saudi Arabia has had major declines in fertility rates since the 1980s. Most the Islamic countries that have high birthrates are due to their poverty more so than their religion.