The Breakdown of Relationships Between Man and Woman And The Fate Of Civilization

One of the key reasons for declining fertility in recent years is the simple fact that young men and women are increasingly failing to form long-term relationships. We are witnessing a remarkable breakdown in relations between the sexes. Alongside the demographic crisis—with which it is deeply intertwined—and the ethnic transformation driven by immigration, this is arguably one of the most significant social changes unfolding in the West today (though it is no longer confined to the West alone; other regions are increasingly feeling the effects as well).

Perhaps the most important insight one can draw from reading Emmanuel Todd is that, on a macro scale, societies tend to mirror the prevailing family structure within them. As social organization shifts away from the family unit and toward atomized, single-based living—or a string of “situationships”—society responds accordingly. It becomes less cohesive, less stable, and more fragmented. What once resembled a shared body begins to look more like a loose collection of individuals.

There are many reasons for this change, and most readers are likely familiar with them, as this topic is widely discussed online. Female emancipation, increased access to higher education and the labor market, and secularization—which weakened marriage as a central social institution—led to two key developments. First, women were no longer socially expected to marry simply because it was “what one does.” Second, the economic incentive to marry diminished, as women increasingly earned their own income. Without a social or economic imperative to marry, female hypergamy and a preference for highly attractive partners were left to run free—cue the now-famous “Chad mania” that’s all over the internet.