Comment by ChrisGranger
Comment by ChrisGranger 3 days ago
I've felt this way for decades and almost invariably get negative push-back when I raise these points. I've stopped worrying about it.
Comment by ChrisGranger 3 days ago
I've felt this way for decades and almost invariably get negative push-back when I raise these points. I've stopped worrying about it.
A huge number of people feel this way, especially post Gen-X generations--Millennials, etc.
From the paper:
> moral authorisation has to come before the imposition.
What's the expression... tell me you're a Millennial without telling me you're a Millennial...?
The anti-natalist movement and it's reactionary natalist counterpart are perfect case studies in how people's beliefs are shaped by their cultural environment.
I never said I didn't like the idea. I neither like it nor dislike it. I just meant to point out that the conclusions are in large part a consequence of the the way the question is framed, and the framing is largely cultural determined, in particular by generational beliefs and concerns. Indeed, the entire question of natalism/anti-natalism is generationally specific; older generations would find it an odd thing to have an "ideology" about, notwithstanding small cohorts in earlier generations, or the fact that in the abstract it had long been discussed.
Given all that, it's expected that a large number of people--in particular, those of the same or adjacent generations--would share these beliefs and even analysis; and an even larger number sharing similar framing, even if coming to opposite conclusions.
It's disquieting when you come to the realization that so many of one's beliefs are, in a sense, predetermined, or at least channeled by a cultural experience shared with millions of other people. This of course applies to myself no less than any other. I long ago stopped considering any of my thoughts rare, let alone original. I read half of the literary output of people from my generation and think, "gee, I was saying that 20 years ago"; and the other half, "gee, I was arguing the opposite 20 years ago". Well, of course I was, and so were they.
That's not to say there aren't novel exceptional moments, cases, and people. Just very few and far between. And the whole natalism debate is definitely not the exception.
Well, here's Schopenhauer channelling his American millennial in 1850s Europe: "If children were brought into the world by an act of pure reason alone, would the human race continue to exist? Would not a man rather have so much sympathy with the coming generation as to spare it the burden of existence?"
The wikipedia article from where I snagged that quote has a few more examples that go back to like, ancient Greece. Check it out!
P.S. it does sound like you have at least a mild disdain for millennials and also an opinion on the matter - share your thoughts, tease out those details! dismissing a topic as a generational "odd thing" isn't fun, and is definitely a common and unoriginal idea.