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In Children of Men, For some reason which we're not really told, the world is in total chaos.

Is there any background info anywhere about why it is so, and how does it correlate to the infertility problem?

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If the world was suddenly told, "Humanity will die out in approximately 50 years," with irrefutable evidence, societal structure and the world economy would pretty quickly crash from panic.

I don't remember if this is ever explicitly said, but there is a tone of global panic throughout the movie. The exact details of how aren't important, but the why is implied throughout the movie: people taking advantage of each other. That is a theme echoed throughout the movie, and is meant to contrast Theo's ultimate selflessness.

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  • To add to your answer; imagine what the world's response would be if we knew an asteroid would wipe us out in 10 days. Total anarchy because nothing matters anymore. But even if we move the deadline to 50 years; humanity's future is just as pointless. It's not about how long until it happens, it's about the finality of it when it inevitably happens (regardless of the time scale; as long as it's a given that it will happen). – Flater May 29 '17 at 8:29
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    I disagree. What happened is that women became infertile for one reason or another. To go from that to "irrefutable evidence" that "Humanity will die out in approximately 50 years" is... highly illogical. I'm sure all the world's top scientists are working on all kinds of solutions, both for restoring fertility and probably for other alternatives as well. In 50 years technology and science is almost guaranteed to have come up with something IMHO. – Magnus W May 29 '17 at 14:09
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    @BadCash: A single person cannot fully comprehend a timespan that far outmatches their own life expectancy. They can appreciate the mathematical size, that's not the same as considering it relevant to their own life decisions. You can see the same happening to global warming. As the "doom clock" gets closer, people get more interested in its existence. In CoM, people cannot procreate anymore. Humanity is done for once the existing people are gone. This completely destroys the need to leave something behind for your descendants; and that means little to no consequences to actions. – Flater May 29 '17 at 14:18
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    @BadCash: What happened is that women became infertile for one reason or another. To go from that to "irrefutable evidence" that "Humanity will die out in approximately 50 years" is... highly illogical. How is this illogical? How are you expecting humanity to survive if no one can procreate anymore? Where are the new humans coming from? Also, you are vastly underestimating the power of insecurity and the dread of impending doom. It's like expecting people to leave a burning building in an orderly fashion. It's just not going to happen. – Flater May 29 '17 at 14:21
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    @Flater It's illogical because in 50 years a lot will have happened, and I would bet that science would come up with some way to restore fertility in one way or another. 50 years ago we hadn't landed on the moon, etc, etc. To re-use your analogy - I'm expecting the fire brigade to be able to put out the fire well within 50 years... – Magnus W May 29 '17 at 14:26

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