Today, the state of the USA appears to be at a peak w.r.t various troubling trends. Wokeism, obesity, depression, drug addiction, over-consumption etc. are only some of the markers.
The reliance on external services has grown to the point where the USA has successfully outsourced its kitchens to the on-demand food delivery franchisees. Many are in fact building apartments without the provision of a kitchen. Real estate in some areas has become so unaffordable that people are resorting to renting out not only half of their home but also half of their bed. Parents and children there are already taking prior appointments to meet each other.
At the core of it, lies the gradual collapse of its family system. Many in India and elsewhere look up to the US as a first world country, and dream of living a so-called American lifestyle. As is evident, there is nothing much to follow or appreciate about the American lifestyle. In fact, it provides some great lessons on what not to do with one’s children, one’s parents, one’s health, one’s environment, and beyond. There are many things to appreciate in the American society, but their current lifestyle is surely not one of them.
We should be extremely careful about the paths we choose for our future.
The United States: A Case Study in Housing Demand
The collapse of the family unit and subsequent reduction in household size of-course didn’t happen overnight. Total households in the US stands at around 134 million today.
Declining Household Size: In 1960, the average person per household in the US was 3.3. Today, that figure has fallen to 2.5.
The Impact: This seemingly small fall of 0.8 persons per household has necessitated the construction of 32 million additional houses.
The Investment Cost: To build these additional homes, an enormous amount of capital—$8.5 trillion of investment was poured into construction.
This data establishes the direct link between fewer persons per household and massive housing demand.
The Sustainability Crisis: The India Warning
The implications of this trend become acutely alarming when considering nations with dense populations and existing traditional family structures, such as India.
Historical Data (India): In 1951, persons per household in India averaged 5.1. As per the 2011 census, this figure had only slightly decreased to 4.9.
The Projected Need: The sources provide dire projections based on further decline:
If the number drops by a mere 0.1 person (to 4.8 persons per household), India would immediately need 51 million new houses.
If India’s family system were to collapse to the level currently seen in the US (2.5 persons per household), the country would need to build an astonishing 132 million new houses.
The central issue is that this level of construction is simply not sustainable, primarily because the required land for so many houses is unavailable.
Poor Alternative Solutions
One potential counter-argument to the land shortage crisis is the construction of massive residential skyscrapers. This approach, similar to those seen in China, involves building huge societies that support 20,000+ people, incorporating schools, colleges, hospitals, shopping malls, and all necessary services within the same structure.
However, the sources offer a critique of this architectural solution, suggesting that these monolithic skyscrapers appear to create a liveable environment only suitable for “semi-zombies,” rather than fostering happy, loving, creative, and evolved human beings.
The Probable Long-Term Solution: Reverting to the Joint Family System
Given the gravity of the housing and sustainability crisis, we all need to acknowledge that a definitive solution is not readily apparent. However, one probable long-term path could be the consideration of going back to the Joint Family system.
While the Joint Family system addresses many other underlying societal issues, its most powerful relevance today is its impact on the current global issue of sustainability.
The Consumption Cost of Fragmentation
The Joint Family structure inherently reduces consumption compared to fragmented nuclear families.
Joint Family Advantage: Imagine a joint family of 12 people. Their collective consumption of resources—such as electricity, cooking gas, car fuel and beyond shared, and thus lesser. Furthermore, this structure provides cumulative savings and 24/7 access to helping hands at home.
Nuclear Family Contrast: Now, compare that situation to the same joint family broken down into three separate nuclear families. This fragmentation immediately necessitates three separate houses, minimum three cars, and a consumption rate that is three times higher. And we are just getting started here.
Fortunately, the overall consumption of resources in India is drastically lower than America. Just to compare the energy consumption, the average American consumes about the same amount of energy in one month as the average Indian consumes in an entire year. India’s average meat consumption is 3.7 kg per person per year, compared to 115 kg per person per year in America.
The consumption of resources by a nation with only 300 million people is orders of magnitude higher than a nation with 1.4 billion people. It’s mind boggling!
The rationale behind the joint family system is that by pooling resources and living spaces, the demands placed on land, overall resources, and infrastructure are drastically lowered, hitting the core problem of sustainability.
The evidence clearly suggests that the movement towards smaller households and nuclear families, driven by the collapse of the traditional family system, is a key factor behind unsustainable housing demand and increased resource consumption.
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