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My impression was that in the US the housing crisis was caused by regulatory burden, zoning laws and nimbyism. Is there clear evidence of US housing problems stemming from capitalism?
How South Korea’s birth rate dropped below Japan’s
11–20 of 439 posts
Re: How South Korea’s birth rate dropped below Japan’s
#12[flagged]
I wouldn't necessarily call it "fueled by western style feminist politics", when it is fueled as much (or even moreso) by "western style incel politics". Furthermore, while it most certainly is an issue over there, it's not so widespread it contributes meaningfully to this particular statistic.
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Re: How South Korea’s birth rate dropped below Japan’s
#13[flagged]
> western style feminist politics Care to explain precisely what you mean in this context? Because it's hard not to see this as a dog-whistle for "why can't women just be happy with the caretaker role?" but perhaps you mean something more benign.
I'm just reporting what I've been told by Koreans I've met. The problem doesn't seem to exist in older generations.
Happy if Koreans could chime in.
Re: How South Korea’s birth rate dropped below Japan’s
#14The only thing they left out in the article is what the effect of pollutants like BPA have on the birthrate. Currently, BPA, an artificial estrogen, is nearly everywhere from food, receipts, and now even clothing. PFAS, BPS, and a host of other pollutants are almost as widespread in many countries that experienced any decent amount of industrialization
This explanation may make sense if people were complaining about an inability to have kids despite wanting them. But physical infertility is not alleged here.
Re: How South Korea’s birth rate dropped below Japan’s
#15[flagged]
I am by no means an expert but I would classify this as misogyny that is rampant in a lot of asian countries. Especially for a number of the developing countries, including Korea, women are still very much seen as property.
Re: How South Korea’s birth rate dropped below Japan’s
#16[flagged]
To be precise the issue is that capitalism will always optimize for "most profit" and little else, simply due to the design of the capitalist "machine". Koreans are simply very very good at capitalism, and the result is a society where most will barely scrape by, constantly working, while those at the top reap massive profits. If you've been paying attention, you can see the same exact thing here in America, with a l…
The other thing is that Japan and Korea have heavily state sponsored capitalism; bank capital and other resources are overwhelmingly allocated to large conglomerates as an industrial policy, which strangles small and medium size businesses that actually employ most people and thus reduces wages across the economy.
Samsung Group is 20.3% of South Korean GDP, and that’s just one of the chaebol.
Re: How South Korea’s birth rate dropped below Japan’s
#17[flagged]
And ah yes that global bastion of unfettered capitalism: China.
All your "in the US" examples aren't capitalism, they're barely even free markets (and several aren't at all). High regulations, high barriers to entry, massive government subsidies for established players and massive government regulation preventing new players from entering the market.
Capitalism has its downsides for sure, but pointing out education and health care is not the brilliant argument you think it is.
Re: How South Korea’s birth rate dropped below Japan’s
#18[flagged]
I wouldn't necessarily call it "fueled by western style feminist politics", when it is fueled as much (or even moreso) by "western style incel politics". Furthermore, while it most certainly is an issue over there, it's not so widespread it contributes meaningfully to this particular statistic.
I should add the obvious: if this is the result of "western style" anything, why is it more prevalent in Korea than "the West"?
Re: How South Korea’s birth rate dropped below Japan’s
#19[flagged]
This is a contributing factor, for sure, but even in European countries with strong social safety nets and pro natalist policies (going so far as to pay cash for kids you have), the fertility rate declines. Why? Empowered, educated women delay having children, have less overall, or have none. When they have access to contraceptives and opportunity, the fertility rate falls below replacement rate. It also happens when your economy is unfavorable of course (China, South Korea, Japan, etc).
Sometimes they are beyond a couple's means, sometimes they are an opportunity cost. Sometimes, they are simply not wanted.
https://ourworldindata.org/fertility-rate#what-explains-the-...
https://www.imf.org/en/Publications/fandd/issues/Series/Anal...
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Income_and_fertility
https://www.nber.org/digest/feb12/impact-real-estate-market-...
Re: How South Korea’s birth rate dropped below Japan’s
#20[flagged]
The situations aren't really comparable. Yes, there has been a noticeable uptick of intra-gender conflict and discourse in South Korea for the last 5 years. But I'd rank it as a minor factor in the general marriage and childcare apathy or inability. As for the conflicts themselves, the starting conditions and challenges for both gender roles are very different from the West, and Korea's feminism is also not the West's feminism.
(I'm not Korean, but I've lived there for some years, can communicate in the language and read the news, and am married to a South Korean citizen with a child on the way; the latter is one of the reasons we moved away.)