Demography and geography are not quite destiny, though close.
1. This is a terrible time to be American higher ed thought leader unless you are in the 1% of highly financed higher ed factories with prestige in engineering and healthcare. If Arizona State can accumulate 100,000 plus online students, imagine what Stanford can do when it decides it needs this revenue stream.
2. Given how important immigration has always been to American prosperity, it is amazing how little Americans actually talk about it. Without immigration, American demography would have collapsed decades ago. And while the labor crisis now is complicated (as is inflation), it is also interesting to see the dominant narrative twisting into whichever imaginary direction (can’t find workers because welfare is paying too much for The Poor to buy meth and be couch potatoes ….) except to understand the centrality of immigration in American labor.
3. Would be lovely to get a human wellness-centered study on what it is about this capitalist modernity we have imposed on the globe, that no matter the religion or race or history, a nation hits certain macroeconomic indicators and the birthrate collapses. A kind of paradox. Rather than the usual media-talking head blame women blame religion blame government blame this blame that, I just want to know why, and if humans having fewer or no children are overall happier or not happier. 19.8.2022
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