The Natalist Conference and Declining Birth Rates

Recently Elon Musk triggered outrage by promoting a vicious speech by a Dutch activist that pushed virulent white nationalist ideologies. Musk added that Europe is threatened by “population collapse” that could lead to “dead civilizations.” What often gets lost amid such controversies is that Musk is pushing ideas that are part of a genuine political movement shaped around long term demographic anxieties. We chatted with reporter Gaby Del Valle, author of a great new Politico piece about the first ever “Natal Conference,” in Austin, Tx., and the far-right movement to get (some) people to have more babies, who helped place Musk’s talk about low birth rates in a global political context.

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