The question of whether to have kids sits at the awkward intersection of intensely personal decisions and important policy issues. That dynamic can lead to societal confusion. Policy makers and researchers debate how economic policies can stop birth rates from declining, while individual people ask themselves how they want to live their life and whether that includes children. To express overt concern about why women are having fewer children can imply that the good life requires childbearing and rearing. As a result, those left of center'especially those who value pluralism'have largely opted out of debates about the merits of parenthood. After all, a fulfilling and valuable life can include children, but it doesn't have to. On today's episode of Good on Paper, I talk with Anastasia Berg, a philosopher and co-author of the recent book What Are Children For' On Ambivalence and Choice. Berg wants to rid the left of any discomfort it might have with engaging in conversations about,...
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