Re:The Highest Forms of Wealth
by triceratops on Saturday July 24, 2021 @11:06PM
(#27946369)
> That's still autonomy, since getting into that was your decision to make
You do have to understand Covid changed a lot of the calculus around kids for a lot of parents. Everything has been affected: the amount of help and support you can get, the activities you can do with them.
That's a fair point, it was a decision I made so autonomy still applies by your definition. I think I disagree with the article's definition of highest form of wealth though:
> Controlling your time and the ability to wake up and say, “I can do whatever I want today.”
Well, technically the highest form of wealth would be: "I can do whatever I want today, AND, I can make others do whetever I want today".
That's still autonomy, since getting into that was your decision to make. Nobody put a pistol on your head to start a family and have kids (hopefully). That's something you chose, with the restrictions that come with it. You could might as well not have started a family, and thus not having to do that.
(Not to mention that if you had more money you could delegate most of those, including making milk and changing diapers, to some helpers, and only keep the "quality" time).
Now, imagine to still "lov[ing] having a family", but being so poor you couldn't afford to start one (or nobody would marry you, because you're, say, homeless). Or having to work double shifts just to make ends meet, and only being able to be minimally present for your kids, despite wanting to be there more. That's lack of autonomy.