And how do you “get rid of the family system”, warehouses?
The family system works, in its multiple versions. Orphanages, nowhere near as well. Situations like the kibbutzim or like charity houses where people could leave their child without relinquishing paternal rights (which used to exist) work in part thanks to not cutting the family bonds completely.
Another thing which helps reduce the pressure to have unwanted children by reducing the need to “have someone to take care of me in my old age” is better old-age safety nets.
Same answer, because it is the same question. Non-abusive parents do not say they can do what they want without regard for the welfare of their children, and there are relatively few abusive parents.
And it doesn’t work 100%. If it did, we wouldn’t have psychos coming from nice families, but we also wouldn’t have people like TokyoBayer or Spice Weasel who manage to rise above a lousy childhood.
Again - same thing, same answer. Most parents do a reasonably acceptable job of molding their kids in their image. A much better job than any orphanage, no matter how well funded or how much you pay the janitor.
Many people who promote eugenics assume that they themselves would fall into the ‘qualified/passing’ category. It’s always *other *people who will be culled/sterilized/banned from procreation/kids taken away by government.
I’m not attacking you, Machinaforce, but pointing out that it’s airy and easy to propose controversial policies - until/unless they affect *you *personally.
I don’t get why the only solution is taking the kids away. To me, a large part of the issue is education. Why not teach everyone the basics of parenting (and other life skills) while in school? Sure, current parents will squawk about what their kids are taught (regardless of what the curriculum is) but there should be some sort of base knowledge everyone has. Most of the horror stories I’ve heard from teachers and social workers come down the just plain ignorance on the part of parents about what they’re responsible for and what’s expected of them, often because that’s not how they were raised. It seems to me that “fighting ignorance” on this front would be a huge benefit, even without resorting to draconian measures.
But some would argue that they wouldn’t need to have such skills if they don’t want to be parents. Plus how can you be sure they are doing as instructed without some sort of inspection?
It takes a village to raise a child. I think that’s sound advice. Kids first lost the village with urbanization, then the extended family when the model became the nuclear family, and pretty much any outside influence now since free-range children don’t exist anymore and parents seem to reject more and more any kind of external interference in their parenting (for instance, the accepted norm nowadays seems to to adress the parents for any witnessed misbehavior, never the kid himself directly). As a result, kids aren’t exposed anymore to a variety of behaviours, temperaments, views, etc…
As a former raised by a village free range kid, I think that being sternly chastized by irascible neighbour Bob for something that your parents find perfectly acceptable, being encouraged by old aunt Martha in a behaviour that your parent find objectionable, being shouted at for very good reasons or for no discernable reason by the crazy drunkard down the road are good things. The idea that raising a child is a matter for the parents alone is novel, and leaves me very unconvinced.
Of course we can all agree that things like sexual abuse, failing to feed, clothe, shelter, etc. are things which can cause kids to be removed from their parents. Those laws are in place now.
What are we screening for apart from these things? Even if we only screened for these things (which I don’t believe your proposal does) then we are in a sort of a Minority Report type of scenario where we try to predict future crimes and punish people for things they have not done.
The proposal is so frighteningly totalitarian, and even if we agreed to become that way would be impossible to implement, that it is amazing that people actually give it any serious discussion.
Really? And you think children know best? When I was a kid, I thought it was unfair to have a bedtime, to have to go to school, that I couldn’t have ice cream for dinner. So I should have decided that, not my parents? :dubious:
I didn’t think of it that way. I grew up having my extended family all within driving distance, but I guess that isn’t the norm then.
But that’s what I’m sort of getting with society taking responsibility for raising the child. Even though I can’t expect people who don’t want kids to care about one that isn’t theirs.