Chapter 703: Lich Salin’s Grimoire
We do not deny the existence of this phenomenon. However, due to the significant differences between our country’s actual situation and that of developed Western countries, the government, society, and individuals should all approach and resolve this issue from the perspective of adapting to our country’s current and future needs.
Firstly, from the government and society’s perspective, practical plans and measures must be implemented to improve the economic and social status of youth, encouraging them to want to have children and to dare to do so. For example, Western countries have successfully increased women’s willingness to give birth and raised fertility rates by implementing the “New Mother Law,” which provides subsidies for newborn children. This experience is worth studying and drawing upon for our government.
Secondly, the family planning policy itself needs corresponding adjustments. It should shift from a one-sided emphasis on controlling population quantity to focusing on improving population quality and optimizing the population structure as soon as possible. The government should formulate relevant measures to encourage eugenics and the birth of healthy future generations, truly transforming from “fewer births” to “better births.”
Thirdly, with the continuous development of our country’s economy and the year-on-year increase in national income, investment in family planning should be gradually increased to ensure the sustainability of this work.
Fourthly, investment in education should be significantly increased to raise the overall cultural level of the populace and promote further updates in people’s thinking.
Finally, from an individual’s perspective, people should also correct their thinking, recognize their responsibilities, and not evade life’s responsibilities with various excuses. Currently, the state has certain regulations in this regard. For example, for only children, the state provides corresponding support in terms of economic and social status. However, we hope people will seriously consider their reproductive choices from the perspectives of both personal and social responsibility.
Of course, our encouragement of childbearing is not blind but advocates for childbearing under planned and scientifically guided conditions. In summary, to resolve this issue, we must view national conditions and the future with a scientific perspective, formulating long-term social development and family planning policies that are continuous, stable, scientific, and operable, while comprehensively considering factors such as economy, society, culture, education, and traditional customs.
(3) [Question] Why are many young people unwilling to have children early, or even decide not to have any? What impact will this have on society and families? How should we resolve such issues?
[Answer] With the progress of society and the improvement of people’s living standards, the marriage and childbearing concepts of contemporary young people have undergone fundamental changes. They crave freedom and wish to control their lives independently. Therefore, in matters of childbearing, there is a phenomenon of unwillingness to have children early or even deciding not to have any. The reasons can be mainly attributed to the following aspects:
Firstly, the increasing economic burden of raising and educating children is a significant reason why young people fear childbirth. Under the market economy system, the expenses for childbirth, childcare, and education of children fall almost entirely on families and individuals. At the same time, due to inflation and rising prices, the cost of childbirth and education for children accounts for an ever-increasing proportion of the family’s income and expenditure. Many young people are forced to postpone childbirth or even give up having children due to economic pressure.
Secondly, the increasingly fierce social competition and intensifying employment pressure, along with the growing work and life pressures imposed on young people by society, are also important reasons why they are unwilling to have children early or at all. Currently, China’s social security system is not yet sound, and social welfare in areas such as healthcare, education, and housing has not been fully implemented. All of this leaves young people with no extra energy or time to consider having children.
Thirdly, the improvement of women’s social status and the changes in women’s life values are also contributing factors to the postponement of marriage and childbearing and the rise in contraceptive use. They wish to realize their personal life values above childbirth and family. Many women pursue erudition, career, power, and wealth, hoping to achieve success in society like men. Therefore, they view childbirth as the biggest obstacle to their personal career development and are forced to postpone or even give up having children.
Fourthly, the family life values of contemporary young people tend to be individualistic. They are unwilling to sacrifice too much of their leisure, entertainment, and personal space for their children. While enjoying family life, they also wish to maintain independence and individuality. Therefore, marital life and emotional communication become the primary goals in marriage, and childbirth and raising children are no longer seen as life’s responsibilities as in traditional times.
Fifthly, the publicity of the current birth policy has one-sidedly emphasized controlling population quantity without highlighting the importance of improving population quality and optimizing the population structure. This has led to some misconceptions regarding childbirth.
The aforementioned factors can all lead to young people postponing or even giving up childbirth. These changes in marriage and childbearing concepts can have some adverse effects on society and families:
One is that it easily triggers a series of ethical and moral problems. If young people are unwilling to have children, then human reproduction will encounter unprecedented obstacles, which goes against humanitarian ethics and morals.
Two is that it will bring difficulties to the survival and social security of the elderly. If young people postpone or forgo childbirth, the proportion of the elderly in the total population will become increasingly larger, thereby increasing the burden of supporting the elderly on society and families, ultimately leading to a series of economic and social problems.
Three is that it will promote changes in social structure. Changes in young people’s childbearing concepts lead to a reduction in the number of family members. The evolution from traditional family structures to nuclear family structures will lead to the weakening of intergenerational mutual support functions and promote changes in the entire social structure.
Four is that it will lead to family risks and a decline in the quality of life for the elderly. In the face of family and personal crises, the lack of strong support increases family risks.
Five is that it will result in the next generation having incomplete psychological development and lacking the proper enthusiasm for life. The increase in the number of only children not only leads to a singular family function but also has a significant impact on the mentality and healthy growth of only children. Only children are often in a central position of attention and care. Under excessive pampering, they are prone to developing bad habits such as selfishness, dependence, and poor independence. Therefore, postponing childbirth and having fewer children is the biggest cause of family risks for families with only children.
How should we resolve this phenomenon? We believe that the government, society, and individuals should all adopt a positive attitude and implement practical policies and measures to resolve the problem.
Firstly, both the government and individuals should update their thinking and face this issue squarely. On the one hand, the government should recognize that the family planning policy is not solely aimed at strictly controlling population quantity. Emphasizing this goal exclusively will inevitably bring a series of subsequent problems to society. On the other hand, young people should also correct their life values and recognize the responsibilities they bear for society and family. Childbearing is a responsibility of society, family, and individuals, and it should not be decided by personal preference whether to undertake this responsibility.
Secondly, the government and society should take measures to encourage childbirth. For example, providing childbirth rewards, government-subsidized childcare services, tax incentives for families with children, and social support for families with children. To ensure that young women can work with peace of mind after giving birth, the government should enact strict laws to protect their employment and work environment after childbirth, while also encouraging men to share household chores after women give birth to help them balance work and family life.
Thirdly, the government should establish and improve the social security system to alleviate the burden on families with children. In the market economy system, the successful transition of the responsibility for childbearing and education from being primarily borne by families to being primarily borne by society is the fundamental way to solve this problem. Therefore, the government should increase investment in healthcare, education, and childcare to reduce the economic burden on families with children. At the same time, governments and enterprises should enact strict laws and systems to allow women to work with peace of mind after giving birth. The state and employers should provide corresponding support to young women after childbirth, enabling them to achieve a balance between work and life.
Fourthly, the government and society should update their thinking and vigorously improve population quality. The government should increase investment in education, raise the national cultural level, and enable people to face their lives and future generations with a scientific attitude. At the same time, the government should also take practical measures to encourage eugenics and the birth of healthy future generations.
(4) [Question] Many young people in cities now have increasingly high requirements for choosing a spouse, with some even adopting a “picky” attitude. How should we view and resolve this phenomenon?
[Answer] With the improvement of living standards, people’s expectations for marriage and life are becoming higher, which is a manifestation of social progress and is commendable. However, in social life, some young people postpone marriage for various excuses or even adopt a non-marriage attitude. This not only brings regret to their lives but also causes distress to their families and surrounding relatives and friends. The reasons can be mainly attributed to the following aspects:
Firstly, this is related to their incorrect views on love and marriage. They have overly idealized requirements for love and marriage, often measuring future partners by unrealistic standards, and thus often cannot get their wishes. They often separate mate selection criteria from emotions, believing that if the conditions are good, emotions can be cultivated. This makes the mate selection criteria the sole yardstick.
Secondly, the continuous improvement of women’s socioeconomic status has led to increasingly higher expectations for marriage. Modern women increasingly focus on choosing a “good” marriage, not only demanding parity in terms of education, income, and occupation but also considering the social status and family wealth of both parties, hoping to achieve class advancement through marriage.
Thirdly, the amplification of social public opinion is also one of the reasons for this phenomenon. Some irresponsible media outlets, in pursuit of high viewership ratings, attract attention with headlines such as “better to be single than settle” and “leftover women,” causing society to misunderstand this phenomenon and thereby putting a lot of pressure on young people in choosing a spouse. They are afraid of becoming “leftover” themselves and thus cannot face their own mate selection views squarely.
Fourthly, the unique habits of only children are also a reason for this phenomenon. Only children are the center and focus of the family, often receiving excessive attention and pampering. Therefore, they develop bad habits such as selfishness, dependence, willfulness, and poor independence. In terms of love and marriage, their requirements for a partner are often centered on themselves, overemphasizing material possessions, living conditions, and personal feelings, thereby losing the requirements for the partner’s personality and character. This leads them to overemphasize material and external conditions when dating, making it difficult to deeply understand the other person’s inner qualities and disposition.
Fifthly, realistic social problems also create much pressure for young people. In today’s world of continuously rising housing prices and increasing living costs, the life pressures on young people are growing, leading many to see choosing a spouse as an opportunity to change their destiny. They hope to choose a partner who can provide them with a superior life and a sense of security, rather than viewing mate selection as a result of mutual attraction in personal charm and emotions between men and women.
Sixthly, it is related to the changes in the overall social environment. Due to the popularization of education and scientific progress, the self-awareness and independent personality of modern young people are continuously emerging. Their concepts of marriage and family tend to be self-centered, unwilling to be constrained by traditional concepts and models, and do not wish to hand over their lives to their partners, thus leading to an increasing number of marriages decided by personal will.
This phenomenon is inherently dangerous for young people and society. It not only slows down the pace of social progress but also brings about some unexpected consequences to society. Many young people consider “older unmarried women” as symbols of social progress and a form of fashion, which is an extremely erroneous concept.
For individuals, the most important thing is to seize their youth and realize their inner ideals. Marriage and love are just an important part of life. Postponing marriage with unreasonable selection criteria will not only affect one’s own life and work but also cause unnecessary trouble to family and surrounding relatives and friends.
In addition, from a societal perspective, the occurrence of this phenomenon not only results in the loss of human resources and social efficiency but also causes changes in the social structure. The consequences arising from this are worth our attention.
How should we resolve it? We believe that the government, society, and individuals should all adopt a positive attitude and take measures to resolve it.
Firstly, the government should take measures to enable young people to face the issue of choosing a spouse with a scientific and rational attitude. The government should increase investment in education, raise the national cultural quality, and promote the updating of people’s thinking. At the same time, the government should also increase investment in areas such as youth employment, education, housing, and healthcare to alleviate their life pressures.
Secondly, society should create a good environment for choosing a spouse. The media should not influence young people’s views on choosing a spouse with one-sided reporting that pursues high ratings. It should focus on positive reporting, enabling young people to face the issue of choosing a spouse with a rational and scientific attitude. Society should encourage young people to establish healthy views on love and marriage, making marriage a result of mutual attraction in emotions and personality between men and women.
Thirdly, young people should correct themselves and update their concepts. They should face the issue of choosing a spouse with an open and rational attitude and view choosing a spouse as an important part of life. Only in this way can they face their lives with a scientific and rational attitude.
(5) [Question] Many young people are worried about the phenomenon of only children, believing that the growth of only children will bring negative impacts to society and families. How should we view this issue and how should we resolve it?
[Answer] Due to the family planning policy implemented in China, the phenomenon of only children has become a common occurrence in Chinese families. The emergence of only children has, to some extent, slowed down China’s population growth trend and has had a positive impact on China’s economic and social development. However, because the implementation of the family planning policy in China has been relatively short (about twenty-five years), many problems have not yet been exposed, nor have they attracted attention from all sectors of society. As the first generation of only children gradually grows up, the issues related to only children begin to emerge, and many young people express concern about the growth of only children. This concern is worthy of our attention and consideration.
The only child policy has led to an increase in the number of only children, which has a significant impact on both society and families:
Firstly, the only child policy has changed family structures. This new family structure (four pairs of elderly parents, one couple, one child) has led to a singular family function and has had serious negative impacts on the mentality and healthy growth of only children. Under excessive pampering, they are prone to developing bad habits such as selfishness and dependence. Due to the lack of emotional support from siblings, only children are often in a central position of attention and care. This lonely living environment often results in only children having an incomplete psychological development and lacking the proper enthusiasm for life.
Secondly, the only child policy hinders social progress. With the continuous increase in the number of only children, their interaction with non-only children is decreasing, leading to a weakened social cohesion. If the rate of only children in society continues to rise, it will inevitably lead to many social problems such as tense intergenerational relationships and increased burdens of supporting the elderly.
Thirdly, the only child policy has led to increasingly fierce competition in society. Due to the generally rising expectations of parents for their only children, educational investment in only children by schools continues to increase, ultimately leading to the loss of human resources and social efficiency. The only child policy has intensified competition in various aspects of society, ultimately slowing down social efficiency.
The original intention of the only child policy was to control population quantity and improve population quality. However, if this goal is emphasized exclusively, it will inevitably bring many subsequent problems to the next generation. How should we resolve the problems brought about by this phenomenon? We believe that the government, society, and individuals should all adopt a positive attitude and update their thinking to resolve it.
First, the government should update its thinking and face this issue squarely. The government should recognize that the family planning policy is not solely aimed at strictly controlling population quantity. Emphasizing this goal exclusively will inevitably bring a series of subsequent problems to society. Therefore, the government should appropriately adjust the birth policy, encourage eugenics, and encourage the birth of healthy future generations.
Second, society should take measures to encourage childbirth. For example, providing childbirth rewards, government-subsidized childcare services, tax incentives for families with children, and social support for families with children. To ensure that young women can work with peace of mind after giving birth, the government should enact strict laws to protect their employment and work environment after childbirth, while also encouraging men to share household chores after women give birth to help them balance work and family life.
Third, the government should establish and improve the social security system to alleviate the burden on families with children. In the market economy system, the successful transition of the responsibility for childbearing and education from being primarily borne by families to being primarily borne by society is the fundamental way to solve this problem. Therefore, the government should increase investment in healthcare, education, and childcare to reduce the economic burden on families with children. At the same time, governments and enterprises should enact strict laws and systems to allow women to work with peace of mind after giving birth. The state and employers should provide corresponding support to young women after childbirth, enabling them to achieve a balance between work and life.
Fourth, the government should increase investment in education and raise the national cultural level. In today’s society, education is the most important means of promoting the updating of people’s thinking. The government should increase efforts in providing life education and family education to people, promoting the updating of their thinking.
Fifth, individuals should also update their thinking and bear their due responsibilities to their families and society. Young people should correct their life values and recognize the responsibilities they bear for society and family. Childbearing is a responsibility of society, family, and individuals, and it should not be decided by personal preference whether to undertake this responsibility.
