State‑sanctioned novels to nudge mating

A government can explicitly use school reading lists to promote a specific model of romantic behaviour (here: spiritual equality in Jane Eyre) as a low‑cost cultural nudge aimed at increasing stable partnerships and, indirectly, births. This is different from direct financial incentives: it treats literature and moral education as policy instruments for demographic goals. — If states adopt cultural curricula as a tool to influence private life (dating, marriage, childbearing), that expands the range of acceptable demographic policy and raises questions about soft power, civic pedagogy, and social engineering.