I’ve wondered about something like that. Lower population growth seems to be a direct consequence of modern liberal society, where women are allowed and encouraged to choose having a career over raising a family.

And despite glib sound bites from well-to-do upper class families who can afford a fortune for high-quality childcare, it may simply be that the average middle-class woman cannot “have it all”, and must make the choice between a fulfilling career or a large family.

If my assessment is correct, it seems to end up in a scenario where, tautologically, the fecund inherit the Earth. In this case, society naturally drifts back towards a more conservative view of family roles over the next century, since only people who live those values increase their numbers. Perhaps, long-term, we enter a regular cycle of populations rising and falling, with each demographic turnover lasting a full century or more.