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> The bigger one is the growing gap between income and cost of living right above time and energy. I've never bought this one. If this were true, you'd expect
by tharne 5y ago
> The bigger one is the growing gap between income and cost of living right above time and energy.
I've never bought this one. If this were true, you'd expect richer people and richer geographies to have higher birthrates, when in fact the opposite is true, and always has been for that matter.
When people give reasons for having or not having children, it is always an after the fact rationalization. Having children is inherently an irrational act, in a good way. It's something you do because you feeling compelled or called to do it, not because you spreadsheeted it and it makes sense. From an individual standpoint, having children almost never makes sense, but we all do it anyways and wouldn't give it up for anything.
If you want to know why people choose to have kids or choose not to have kids, you need to look at culture, not economics. In some ways the answer is simple. Cultures that don't value having children (or having many children) tend to get replaced by ones that do.
- lotsofpulp 5y ago> It's something you do because you feeling compelled or called to do it, not because you spreadsheeted it and it makes sense. From an individual standpoint, having children almost never makes sense, but we all do it anyways and wouldn't give it up for anything. Or was having children an inevitable consequence of sex? Only after achieving women’s financial independence and reliable, accessible birth control with no downsides would the true measure of how many children people (really, women) want. This has only been achieved relatively recently, but all statistics indicate the birth rate after women achieve the ability to fully control how many kids they have is far less than what it was when they did not have control. > In some ways the answer is simple. Cultures that don't value having children (or having many children) tend to get replaced by ones that do. I can agree with this, and posit that it is possible cultures that restrict women’s rights may replace ones that value women’s rights.