430 - JP Marceau - The Mythology of Demographic Collapse
The Symbolic World
00:00
Cultural blinders and the WWII consensus
They analyze why Western culture missed demographic signals and how post‑WWII individualism promoted lower fertility.
Play episode from 22:20
Transcript
Transcript
Episode notes
In this interview, I sat down with Jean-Philippe Marceau—author of Post-Reductionist Christianity, our very first theory book at Symbolic World Press—to discuss his surprising and widely praised new Symbolic World article on the emerging global demographic crisis.
We discuss the falling birth rates and all its symbolic, scriptural, political, economic, and technological implications and causes. JP’s article likens today’s demographic collapse to the biblical Flood, looking at the dangers of both progressive dissolution and a reactionary overcorrection, proving the fact that the future belongs to those who build families grounded in meaning and tradition.
YouTube version: https://youtu.be/SBrTYadO3kE
Check out JP’s article, ‘Is This the Flood? Is Babel Next?’: https://www.thesymbolicworld.com/content/is-this-the-flood-is-babel-next
JP's book: https://store.thesymbolicworld.com/products/post-reductionist-christianity-a-way-out-of-the-meaning-crisis
===================================
COURSE: The Quest for the Holy Grail, with Dr. Martin Shaw
Register now and get a FREE ebook of Dr. Martin Shaw's Snowy Tower: Parzival and the Wet Black Branch of Language!
In the dark heart of January, when the nights are long and the world draws close, Dr. Martin Shaw returns to the Symbolic World to tell one of the greatest stories of the Medieval imagination: Parzival and the Holy Grail.
From Monday through Friday, January 12–16, 2026, one of the world's great living storytellers will unspool the medieval epic that Joseph Campbell called the epicenter of Western myth. He’ll be lighting his fire, puffing a cigar, sipping on a whisky, and letting one of the greatest stories of all time lead us where it must.
Clear your evenings. Put another log on the fire. This is the storytelling event of the year.
🗓 Live classes will be over 5 consecutive days, January 12th-16th at 12pm-2pm EST
💰 Price: $160 USD (Involved patrons qualify for 10% off, apply code at checkout.)
All recordings will be made available on the same day.
Register today: https://www.thesymbolicworld.com/courses/the-quest-for-the-holy-grail
===================================
Timestamps:
00:00 - Coming up
00:53 - Intro music
02:20 - Introduction to Demography and Its Significance
05:15 - Genetics and Political Ideologies
08:26 - Biblical Parallels: The Flood and Modern Society
11:24 - The Consequences of the Sexual Revolution
14:34 - Historical Patterns: Rome and Its Decline
17:56 - The Watchers
20:18 - Population and the WW2 Consensus
22:25 - The Impact of Cultural and Religious Practices
25:29 - The Challenge of Economic Systems
29:49 - The Only Way Out
💻 Website and blog: http://www.thesymbolicworld.com
🔗 Linktree: https://linktr.ee/jonathanpageau
🔒 BECOME A PATRON: https://thesymbolicworld.com/subscribe
Our website designers: https://www.resonancehq.io/
My intro was arranged and recorded by Matthew Wilkinson: https://matthewwilkinson.net/
We discuss the falling birth rates and all its symbolic, scriptural, political, economic, and technological implications and causes. JP’s article likens today’s demographic collapse to the biblical Flood, looking at the dangers of both progressive dissolution and a reactionary overcorrection, proving the fact that the future belongs to those who build families grounded in meaning and tradition.
YouTube version: https://youtu.be/SBrTYadO3kE
Check out JP’s article, ‘Is This the Flood? Is Babel Next?’: https://www.thesymbolicworld.com/content/is-this-the-flood-is-babel-next
JP's book: https://store.thesymbolicworld.com/products/post-reductionist-christianity-a-way-out-of-the-meaning-crisis
===================================
COURSE: The Quest for the Holy Grail, with Dr. Martin Shaw
Register now and get a FREE ebook of Dr. Martin Shaw's Snowy Tower: Parzival and the Wet Black Branch of Language!
In the dark heart of January, when the nights are long and the world draws close, Dr. Martin Shaw returns to the Symbolic World to tell one of the greatest stories of the Medieval imagination: Parzival and the Holy Grail.
From Monday through Friday, January 12–16, 2026, one of the world's great living storytellers will unspool the medieval epic that Joseph Campbell called the epicenter of Western myth. He’ll be lighting his fire, puffing a cigar, sipping on a whisky, and letting one of the greatest stories of all time lead us where it must.
Clear your evenings. Put another log on the fire. This is the storytelling event of the year.
🗓 Live classes will be over 5 consecutive days, January 12th-16th at 12pm-2pm EST
💰 Price: $160 USD (Involved patrons qualify for 10% off, apply code at checkout.)
All recordings will be made available on the same day.
Register today: https://www.thesymbolicworld.com/courses/the-quest-for-the-holy-grail
===================================
Timestamps:
00:00 - Coming up
00:53 - Intro music
02:20 - Introduction to Demography and Its Significance
05:15 - Genetics and Political Ideologies
08:26 - Biblical Parallels: The Flood and Modern Society
11:24 - The Consequences of the Sexual Revolution
14:34 - Historical Patterns: Rome and Its Decline
17:56 - The Watchers
20:18 - Population and the WW2 Consensus
22:25 - The Impact of Cultural and Religious Practices
25:29 - The Challenge of Economic Systems
29:49 - The Only Way Out
💻 Website and blog: http://www.thesymbolicworld.com
🔗 Linktree: https://linktr.ee/jonathanpageau
🔒 BECOME A PATRON: https://thesymbolicworld.com/subscribe
Our website designers: https://www.resonancehq.io/
My intro was arranged and recorded by Matthew Wilkinson: https://matthewwilkinson.net/
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