Jim Penman explains why the Amish have 6.1 children per woman while most developed countries face declining birth rates. Their culture discourages premarital sex and emphasizes community identity, which Penman argues makes their brains more dopamine-responsive, driving stronger motivation to work and family life. About 85% of Amish youth stay in the community despite rejecting modern technology.
Hi, I'm Jim Penman. I'm a businessman who's funded a research institute into, amongst other things, the birth rate crisis. Why are birth rates dropping? I've written previous books including Epigenetics and Character and Biohistory, about to release Birth Rate Crisis. Amish population is growing very rapidly. The estimated total fertility is 6.1, having 3 times as many children as they need to replace themselves. About 85% of the people, of the young people, actually stay with the community and leave, which is interesting because it's a fairly tough lifestyle. You've got to avoid modern technology, but 85% do and they seem to find it's worthwhile. Median age of marriage for women is 20.9. It's very young, when people are fertile. Now, there's a reason for this and it's to do with the actual way that the community is set up. The Amish have certain kinds of customs that have this effect of making people more sensitive to dopamine. They discourage very actively sex outside of marriage. particularly before marriage. That is a thing that actually tends to make the dopamine system more reactive. And then you have strong community, strong religious orientation, all have the same kinds of effects. A sense of being part of a community, not putting yourself above others. These all have the effects of making people more sensitive to dopamine. And when you're more sensitive to dopamine, it means you wanna work harder, you enjoy family, you enjoy community, you enjoy children.
Rising mental illness and falling birth rates have the same cause, it is this.....
