| The reality of children, or why have so many. |
by Peace_man |
2005-03-08 12:37:38 |
Brought on by the min. wage thread below.
IMO children are basically a security measure. In any country that doesn't guarantee care of the elderly, if you don't have the means to save for your old age, and ensure that you can pay others to do for you what you can't do yourself when you get old and infirm, having children devoted to you is the only form of security you can afford.
Looking at it that way it makes a lot of sense for children to be more desired the less well off people are. It makes a lot of sense for China, f. ex., to have a great deal of trouble persuading its population to have less children. Especially since China has a tradition of venerating parents, and emphasizing the support of the family over any other group like city, county, nation, trade union, etc.
So rather than castigating poor people for having children they can't afford to raise in the same standard of living as we ourselves might enjoy, try looking at it as a failure to guarantee support for people in their dotage. It certainly helps explain the observed behaviour without having to resort to generalizations like 'they're stupid'. They are actually quite shrewd, and doing what works best for their circumstances. |
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[ Reply ] |
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China, maybe. Surely not in the US, though. | by shminux | 2005-03-08 12:43:52 |
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Maybe not. | by Peace_man | 2005-03-08 12:46:35 |
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Very true in the US actually | by vampire | 2005-03-08 14:30:38 |
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Very true even without the abuses cited | by HadEnuf | 2005-03-08 17:59:53 |
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Even those well off need someone | by DesertRat66 | 2005-03-08 12:45:41 |
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Granted, things don't always work out perfectly. | by Peace_man | 2005-03-08 12:51:40 |
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But it doesn't work at all. | by BloodyViking | 2005-03-08 12:46:11 |
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Possibly. But at least with children there is a | by Peace_man | 2005-03-08 12:54:17 |
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Without children, you can afford to squirrel | by NOLAWitch | 2005-03-08 20:21:21 |
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Perhaps in strict equity terms, yes | by MatthewDBA | 2005-03-08 20:34:58 |
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And if spewing offspring were anything but a | by NOLAWitch | 2005-03-08 20:44:43 |
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I'm not claiming that one ought to expect | by MatthewDBA | 2005-03-08 20:56:06 |
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I think many people do not think about | by evilsysadmin | 2005-03-08 12:47:26 |
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I think you are right - it is not that much of | by Peace_man | 2005-03-08 12:56:43 |
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I agree | by Spisefisken | 2005-03-08 13:02:13 |
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REmoving Debt? Do you mean remove it by paying it | by evilsysadmin | 2005-03-08 13:24:00 |
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Thought he was talking bout the third world | by Spisefisken | 2005-03-08 14:00:39 |
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Wrong on a couple of counts. | by esbita | 2005-03-08 13:06:52 |
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So once again | by hyzenthlay | 2005-03-08 13:09:52 |
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I'm not so sure the motives are all that conscious | by Peace_man | 2005-03-08 13:24:28 |
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Humans are very capable | by hyzenthlay | 2005-03-08 13:34:18 |
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Was this study targeted at black people, or | by Peace_man | 2005-03-08 14:15:15 |
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Don't know | by hyzenthlay | 2005-03-08 16:41:45 |
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Oh, castigating! | by Zzyzzx | 2005-03-08 13:41:39 |
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Grr. | by Zzyzzx | 2005-03-08 13:45:08 |
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Indeed, that is the very basis for . . . | by HadEnuf | 2005-03-08 17:54:29 |
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OM$DEITY! Something on which we *agree*! | by HadEnuf | 2005-03-08 18:04:28 |
