I'm just going to say it: The whole kids versus no-kids debate isn't actually about kids. It's about resources. I feel like a considerable portion of our generation feels like we got rug-pulled by 'the system,' and understandably so. Hence, where we are today. Money, time, energy, emotions - everyone is feeling the squeeze, and that changes the mental calculus for everyone (as it should).
The school day is just getting started, and 4-year-old Vasiliki Vourgou, a little girl with dark eyes and hair pulled back in a shiny ponytail with a hot pink scrunchie, is alone. Most days, there are two pupils in this small classroom on the Greek island of Lemnos, with big windows and a view of the school's front courtyard. But one student is sick, so today it's just Vasiliki, going through the morning routine with her teacher.
For years, Elon Musk has consistently argued that one of the greatest threats to civilization is collapsing birth rates. The billionaire CEO believes that declining fertility could hollow out economies, weaken workforces, and leave the West unable to sustain itself. In an X post last week, he wrote: "Low birth rate is the number one threat to the West. There will be no West if this continues."