looking at birth rate crisis through hegel

hegel says history is the spirit actualizing itself. history progresses towards the absolute. this is because humanity progresses regardless of its destination.

human beings might have a sense of wrong destination though. if people doesn't like where we all are heading then they might as well not participate in its progress. producing new human beings is progress. history's existence is tightly bound to existence of the human. what we call history is the history of human. the vast universe does not depend on us, at least in a way we can understand, so we might slowly perish on this planet and thousands of galaxies will continue radiating their alien mysteries. what hegel calls the spirit is the absolute idea. an idea can only exist in human mind, at least in the planet earth.

idealist's dilemma is that he needs to devote his life to his ideal and know that he won't be able to see the fruit of his work in his lifetime. when (or if) this ideal actualizes through the history is unknown to him. nevertheless he works for it, so future generations can enjoy living with his imaginary perfect world.

what makes someone hopeless for future generations? the possibility of doing better. it's a fool who believes he can live his ideal. it takes a sage to see he can do a little better than the previous and pass the torch.

what if there's no possibility of betterment? what if even after the despot dies, government changes, war finishes one can not see people living in a better way? what if i look around myself and think what we are heading towards is not good? why wouldn't i consciously or unconsciously decide to not create new life? baudrillard says that only those who accept to use system's function of death against itself can win. silent protest of not having babies is accepting not-life. it's a decision for the death of the absolute. it's a decision for not participating in its history anymore.

To not choose to produce an offspring is to decidedly reject a life that sprouts from your humus. a life that will experience the effects of time and space. a life that is both rich and in poverty. it's the ultimate form of losing what you do not have as described by Brecht.