> As the philosopher John Rawls pointed out, a society of happiness-seekers would have no reason not to borrow heavily and leave the debt to future generations. (...) What’s more: if the only reason to have children is to make oneself happier, rather than to fulfill a social or moral duty, a lot fewer people will have children. Mounting national debt and a birthrate well below replacement level: that describes Western Europe today rather well.
Those two statements are inconsistent. If "mounting national debt" is evidence that the people of Western Europe only seek their own immediate pleasure, and if having children makes oneself happier, then we should expect those same people to have many children.
Maybe the author meant that having children don't make people happy (which may or may not be the case); but it's not what he said.
Those two statements are inconsistent. If "mounting national debt" is evidence that the people of Western Europe only seek their own immediate pleasure, and if having children makes oneself happier, then we should expect those same people to have many children.
Maybe the author meant that having children don't make people happy (which may or may not be the case); but it's not what he said.