You cannot incentivize people to make that sacrifice at anything close to the proper scale because people don’t want money that badly. How many hands would you amputate for $100,000?
There’s just no political will to do it, since the solutions would be harsh or expensive enough that nobody could impose them upon society. A god-emperor, who really wished to increase fertility numbers and could set laws freely without the society revolting, could use some combination of these methods:
If you’re childless, or perhaps just unmarried, you pay additional taxes. The amount can be adjusted to be as high as necessary. Alternatively, just raise the general tax rate and give reduction based on the number of children. If having children meant more money instead of less, that would help quite a bit.
Legally mandate having children. In some countries, men are forced into military service. You could require women to have children in similar way. Medical exceptions are already a thing for military service, they could apply here as well.
Remove VAT and other taxes from daycare services, and medical services for children.
Offer free medical services to children. And parents. (And everyone.)
Spend lots of money and research how to create children in artificial wombs. Do that.
The state could handle child-rearing, similar to how it works in Plato’s Republic. I.e. scale up orphanage system massively and make that socially acceptable.
Fix the education system, while you’re at it.
Forbid porn, contraception, and abortion. (I don’t think that actually helps)
Deny women access to education beynd elementary school, and additionally forbid employment (likely helps, but at what cost)
Deny women access to education beynd elementary school, and additionally forbid employment (likely helps, but at what cost)
Probably even more controversial, allow different people to learn at different speeds. So that everyone would study e.g. until they are 20, but the most stupid ones would only learn to read and write, and the smartest ones would get the same university education they get now, only at an earlier age.
Make it mandatory for companies above certain size to offer part-time jobs for both women and men who have children.
I think the state handling child rearing is the long term solution. The need for new people is a society wide problem and not ultimately one of personal responsibility. Of course people should still be free to do it on their own if they want. It’ll be weird that not everyone will have traditional parents, but I think we can figure it out. Maybe a mandatory or highly incentivized big brother/ sister program would help make it more nurturing.
I mean, the whole point was “how can we have fertility but also not be a dystopia”. You just described a dystopia. It’s also kind of telling that the only way to make people have children, something that is supposedly a joyous experience, you can think of is “have a tyrannical dictator make it very clear that they’ll make sure the alternative is even worse”. Someone thinking this way is part of the problem more than they are of the solution.
There’s just no political will to do it, since the solutions would be harsh or expensive enough that nobody could impose them upon society. A god-emperor, who really wished to increase fertility numbers and could set laws freely without the society revolting, could use some combination of these methods:
If you’re childless, or perhaps just unmarried, you pay additional taxes. The amount can be adjusted to be as high as necessary. Alternatively, just raise the general tax rate and give reduction based on the number of children. If having children meant more money instead of less, that would help quite a bit.
Legally mandate having children. In some countries, men are forced into military service. You could require women to have children in similar way. Medical exceptions are already a thing for military service, they could apply here as well.
Remove VAT and other taxes from daycare services, and medical services for children.
Offer free medical services to children. And parents. (And everyone.)
Spend lots of money and research how to create children in artificial wombs. Do that.
The state could handle child-rearing, similar to how it works in Plato’s Republic. I.e. scale up orphanage system massively and make that socially acceptable.
Fix the education system, while you’re at it.
Forbid porn, contraception, and abortion.(I don’t think that actually helps)Deny women access to education beynd elementary school, and additionally forbid employment (likely helps, but at what cost)
Propaganda. Lots of it. Censorship as well.
Probably even more controversial, allow different people to learn at different speeds. So that everyone would study e.g. until they are 20, but the most stupid ones would only learn to read and write, and the smartest ones would get the same university education they get now, only at an earlier age.
Make it mandatory for companies above certain size to offer part-time jobs for both women and men who have children.
I think the state handling child rearing is the long term solution. The need for new people is a society wide problem and not ultimately one of personal responsibility. Of course people should still be free to do it on their own if they want. It’ll be weird that not everyone will have traditional parents, but I think we can figure it out. Maybe a mandatory or highly incentivized big brother/ sister program would help make it more nurturing.
This is part of my point. Our culture will not survive such measures. A different culture will result.
I mean, the whole point was “how can we have fertility but also not be a dystopia”. You just described a dystopia. It’s also kind of telling that the only way to make people have children, something that is supposedly a joyous experience, you can think of is “have a tyrannical dictator make it very clear that they’ll make sure the alternative is even worse”. Someone thinking this way is part of the problem more than they are of the solution.