Birth dearth in Eastern Europe
The conservatives having large families that I spoke of have their work cut out for them. Monday's New York Times has an article on the precipitous decline in birthrates in Eastern Europe;
After a long decline, birthrates in European countries have reached a historic low, as potential parents increasingly opt for few or no children. European women, better educated and integrated into the labor market than ever before, say there is no time for motherhood and that children are too expensive anyway.
Rod Dreher asks in his Crunchy Con blog whether this is a modern variation of the "Tragedy of the Commons," where people pursuing their own self-interest have a negative effect on the shared interests of the community. In the classic example of this phenomenon (over-grazing on pasture land held in common) the solution is obvious: private property.
In our current context, the situation isn't as easy to solve. If the goverment cut people off from any state support in their retirement, that wold create an incentive for families to have more kids (to support parents in their old age). But how likely is that?