So what exactly causes the flow of wealth to reverse? Children have not somehow suddenly become expensive, unproductive creatures. What has changed is that their parents have lost control over that productivity. Contemporary market economies have systematically dismantled all legal and customary direct obligations that children once had towards their parents, a dismantling that is still going on in some parts of the world.
Tag: Demographic change
Demographic Transitions and the Eclipse of the Family
Demographic Transitions and the Eclipse of the Family Many countries have experienced a demographic transition from high to low birth and death rates. The United States made this transition gradually during the 1800s and 1900s. Japan transited quickly during the mid-1900s. Pakistan is still stuck in the transition today. But about forty years ago, European…