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It's not that they didn't think like this but that they couldn't. Thanks to readily available and affordable birth control individuals have much more freedom t
by Teever 6y ago
It's not that they didn't think like this but that they couldn't.
Thanks to readily available and affordable birth control individuals have much more freedom to make reproductive choices that benefit themselves.
What those individual freedoms do to society as a whole is another issue but it is entirely within the ability of western governments to increase birthrates through policy. The fact that they don't is most interesting.
- notsureaboutpg 6y agoThis isn't true. There were ancient, relatively effective methods of birth control. And if you really couldn't care for kids they became orphans. Also with larger extended families and closer knit societies many people would "gift" their kids to others who were barren. 5 out of my mother's 15 cousins were adopted (without their parents dying).
- JasonFruit 6y agoHey, you're dead, though I'm seeing a lot of perfectly fine comments from you that contribute valuable things to discussions. You might want to do something about that.
- notsureaboutpg 6y agoThanks for letting me know. I may create a new account :)
- beaner 6y agoEhh... I wouldn't assume that's the whole reason. It's been known for a pretty long time how to not have a baby if you don't want one, physically. Two other factors are religion, and the fact that children are now expenses into their mid-twenties rather than income-generating/household-contributing in their teens.
- notsureaboutpg 6y agoYeah this is huge, just 100 years back kids got married and worked at like 13 years old.
- conductr 6y ago> Two other factors are religion, and the fact that children are now expenses into their mid-twenties rather than income-generating/household-contributing in their teens. I’d boil it down to selfishness. In the past, kids were productive assets as you mentioned. They were also your elder care and retirement plan. So having kids was a selfish act. Now, kids are liabilities and things like elder care and retirement is a financial consideration and people don’t want their kids burdened by it (US culture). Also, you can freely live your life without kids (travel, career, etc). So, in that sense, not having kids is a selfish act. I personally feel like many of the people who say they’re not having kids because overpopulation/fearsome of future/etc are just looking for a pat on the back while really their motivation is selfish.
- ed25519FUUU 6y agoThere’s plenty of counterpoints to this around the world and including in the USA today. Our ancestors just thought differently about family, progeny, and themselves than we do, and that’s fine.
- gadders 6y agoTrue, birth control does make that choice easier.