Arguments for eugenics always end up recommending that lower-status people have less children and higher-status people have more children. If you worry that you might be low status (perhaps you’re a geek?), you might reasonably worry that you will be discouraged from having kids.
If you worry that you might be low status (perhaps you’re a geek?), you might reasonably worry that you will be discouraged from having kids.
Ok what is so great about having kids? We see from revealed preferences that people who could afford huge families prefer to buy other things and the studies on life time happiness are kind of ambiguous.
Also, revealed preferences reveal very little in this case, because:
(a) even if you don’t want kids, you might prefer to make that choice for yourself
(b) some well-off people do choose to have kids
(c) almost nobody is so well-off that having kids would entail a relatively small financial sacrifice, in part because well-off people are expected to (and do) spend more money on their kids
Arguments for eugenics always end up recommending that lower-status people have less children and higher-status people have more children. If you worry that you might be low status (perhaps you’re a geek?), you might reasonably worry that you will be discouraged from having kids.
Ok what is so great about having kids? We see from revealed preferences that people who could afford huge families prefer to buy other things and the studies on life time happiness are kind of ambiguous.
This colleague of Robin Hanson thinks it’s pretty great.
Also, revealed preferences reveal very little in this case, because:
(a) even if you don’t want kids, you might prefer to make that choice for yourself
(b) some well-off people do choose to have kids
(c) almost nobody is so well-off that having kids would entail a relatively small financial sacrifice, in part because well-off people are expected to (and do) spend more money on their kids