Simone and Malcolm Collins have four kids And they continue to reproduce, believing they are addressing humanity’s most significant challenge—the decreasing birthrate. Although, they do not share all of Elon Musk In their opinion, they look up to him and resonate with his struggle regarding the population issue.
A self-described “pronatalist,” the tech billionaire has repeatedly stated he believes in having a high number of kids as a way to combat what he views as an impending "demographic collapse" - And currently has approximately 14 children with four different women.
The Collins family from Valley Forge, Pennsylvania hope to have seven kids And similar to Musk, they utilized IVF to identify indicators of low intelligence quotient scores and depressive tendencies, as claimed. In line with those holding comparable beliefs, they opted to deliberately differentiate their children by bestowing upon them "Puritan virtues"-inspired monikers such as Octavian George, Torsten Savage, Titan Invictus, and Industry Americus.
READ MORE: Six canned foods that may be about to get a lot more expensive - stock up now
READ MORE: Neurologist Shares Cognitive Test Taken by President Trump – See How You Fare
They believe that assigning "feminine" names to their daughters could impose a burden on them. The pair assert that their pronatalist stance stems from examining "statistics" and anticipating the decline of the present global structure.
Collins, who owns an AI company, stated, "Our current way of life isn't compatible with the emerging realities." He further notes, "We will witness a demographic decline during our lifetimes, leading to governmental systems and global political structures becoming non-functional."
Many individuals from my generation do not expect the government to rely solely on Social Security for their support—understanding that it will likely become unsustainable due to a much larger elderly population compared to the number of younger people," he goes on. "Presently, low birth rates in regions such as Europe are putting considerable stress on these social safety nets.
"He suggests they will start to fall apart, probably within our lifetime, unless we have more offspring," he states. The pair supposedly met as "progressives" in San Francisco back in 2012.
Initially, Simone was determined not to have children, even during her first pregnancy with Octavian George, who is now five years old. She shared, "When I was eight months pregnant, I told Malcolm, 'What if I don't end up loving our child?'"
“I was really concerned about my career," Simone said. “But in the end, I had this baby and my life changed. I have been so won over by the profound privilege of bringing someone into the world.”
She doesn’t believe everyone should have children but supports those who want to and believes more support should be given. She said a lot of people give Musk the “side eye” for having the conversation but added that the future would not solely include the “traditional” family units seen nowadays.
“We live in a culture that does not value marriage and parenthood," she said. “Women are encouraged to prioritise a broad array of other things, whereas in the past getting married and having children were the first things you did as a young adult.”
Simone added that she dismisses the idea that children are too expensive.
“People 100 percent can afford to have kids,” Simone said. “By direct correlation, poorer people have more children.”
She says the problem is people treat children like “millionaires or dukes from Regency-era England” and lists the “toys, programs and tutoring” as aspects of modern child-rearing that leave parents out of pocket.
Even though she was initially hesitant, Simone confesses that she "adores" having children—and many of them. Following Octavian George, she has subsequently become a mother to Torsten Savage, who is four years old; Titan Invictus, aged two; and Industry Americus, who is just one year old.
Collins explains that the pair opted for Puritan virtuous names due to his observation: “Studies seem to indicate that the name parents choose can influence their children.” Simone further elaborates, "This naming trend could impact women’s career choices; those with more delicate-sounding names may be less likely to pursue careers in STEM disciplines and might end up earning lower salaries as well."
“I didn’t wish to impose that burden on my daughter,” she stated. “We deliberately distanced our children from others, similar to many high-fertility communities, in manners that reinforce for the kids how distinct their society is.”
"It was important to me that they understand our society is culturally different from others," Simone continues. It was reported that the couple have screened their embryos for IQ, risk of depression and other markers and also spent money on in vitro fertilisation (IVF) - a controversial practice that has been criticized for opening the potential for eugenics and its current lack of regulation in the USA.
They attend the annual Natal Conference, which is held this year at the University of Texas in Austin. Collins said: "One of the things that shocked me most was that it was the first time in a long time I had been around a group of people who are excited about the future—people who believe our culture has a fair chance of being in that future.
"We talk about sharing strategies and ideas about helping our kids and preventing them from turning into the urban monoculture," he says. "I share my tech ideas with people of radically different family traditions and philosophies."
"There’s a traditional faction—more conservative, more gender-unequal," Collins continues. "The other group is the tech group—like Elon’s—unusual family constructs, babies via IVF.
According to the man, "about two-thirds of the people who go to the natalist convention come from that group." Collins says, "Most of the traditional branch is interested in their own birth rates."
"We’re interested in everyone’s birth rates," he adds. Collins says he sees pro-natalism as “a unifying issue." He says he supports Musk’s attitudes to having children, saying: “Being a pro-natalist means you care about people different from you.
"He is creating a sustainable family future and despite it being different from mine and not what I chose to do - I chose to be in a single marriage - I would shame that no more than I would shame Catholics or Mormons," Collins admitted. "Everyone in the pro-natalism movement is competing with their own hypothesis of what a suitable cultural context for meeting and family-building looks like."
Collins acknowledges that his structure is different from Elon's: "We run our companies together, do our parenting together, do everything extremely 50/50." He confirms, "It's almost traditional—with Elon, I think it’s one of the most gender-egalitarian experiments out there.
"These women are not being hyper-controlled by him," he explains. "It’s an experiment in a new culture, very different from the one I’m running with my family, and time will be the great judge."
He labels the “urban monoculture” - cities, more economically gender-equal and modern societies - as those most vulnerable to this collapse. Pro-natalism has also been adopted by ultra-conservative religious groups, many of which do not prioritise women’s rights within their doctrines.
An example is Quiverfull, a Christian evangelical movement where followers are encouraged to have as many children as they can and avoid contraception. The movement has attracted criticism for imposing strict gender roles.
Collins said: "I’m a big fan of gender equality, but if birth rates continue to decline, we’re cashing in the sacrifices of all the previous generations to get gender equality without doing the thing we need to maintain it.
"While I personally value gender equality within my relationships and for my kids, one of the things I find so empowering is being able to associate with people who have different beliefs from me," gushed Collins. "I celebrate difference, and I respect the Quiverfull movement trying to get through the risks our species faces at the moment.
"The future belongs to those who show up,” as my wife often mentions," he stated. “That’s precisely why I wish to engage in conversation with them.”
A segment of progressive Left circles views those from the Quiverfull movement as unenlightened barbarians unwilling to engage with us. However, these individuals turn out to be some of the most welcoming folks I've encountered," says Collins. "At our gatherings, we see Orthodox Jews, traditional Catholics, and conservative Muslims—people committed to safeguarding their heritage; they aim to preserve it.
I'd like to see some parts of the urban monoculture maintained, but I doubt it will happen.
0 Response to "Meet the Pro-Natalist Family Following in Elon Musk's Footsteps: Having Kids to Save Civilization"
Post a Comment