Abstract
The political effects of low fertility rates warrant thoughtful attention, especially in countries such as South Korea that are classified among those with “lowest-low” fertility. Some of the effects of low fertility are real, others imagined. There is a long history of alarms about low fertility that proved to be excessive, yet “lowest-low” fertility rates are unprecedented and do pose substantial challenges for important public policies relating to marriage, childbearing, immigration, healthcare, housing, labor markets, and retirement. The South Korean government has been seeking to address such issues systematically, even as some Korean voices issue dire warnings that echo excessive alarms of the past. This chapter offers cautious assessments of current Government policies, and suggests additional approaches that might also be considered.
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Notes
- 1.
The core racism of the Nazi regime meant that such policies were provided only to “valuable” recipients, not to “inferior” (minderwertig) categories: the “eugenically unfit”; Jews; Gypsies; handicapped; “asocials”; political opponents; laborers from Eastern Europe; etc. Moreover, most of the benefits that were provided went to men rather than to women. (Bock 1994: 128).
- 2.
Similar connotations apply to inanimate objects such as “aging” machinery, cars, manufacturing plants, and housing stock.
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Teitelbaum, M.S. (2018). Political Effects – Real and Imagined – In Low Fertility Societies. In: Poston, Jr., D. (eds) Low Fertility Regimes and Demographic and Societal Change. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-64061-7_11
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