Do you guys think that nowadays it is feasable to have children under capitalism?

China: One child policy

Capitalist West: Zero child policy

Gotta laugh how fash think people aren't having babies because of Jewish mind control when in reality the people are fucking broke and childcare in the USA is a luxury lmao

if it was feasible during the Black Death it's feasible now. you just have to adjust your expectations of your child's material conditions from infancy through adulthood. If you go through with it you should also accept the likelihood that their life will be short and bad.

I think the whole "americana is when you move out of the home when you're 18/graduate" is probably the most devious social engineering done by capitalism.

Families are support networks, even if you don't have a kid yourself someone else would have and you can focus on supporting them.

From a south asian islamic perspective, I don't know why crackers have a culture of hating their parents and fucking them over later in life with retirement homes (it's probably just capitalism tho).

I mean yeah a lot of people are out there doing it lol

Definitely not ideal, and my partner and I aren't going to for a variety of reasons, but given adequate money and a strong family support system you can avoid most of the problems poorer people will face

We've got a kid and he's probably gonna die in a nuclear war, but hey, he was probably gonna die someday anyway.

I would love to have a kid someday, it's just sad that it's primarily a fiscal decision

Releasing my hit DSBM/raw black metal/dungeon synth single "Maternity: The Prime Mover Of Suffering" soon.

It’s just comically expensive nowadays and I’m not a proponent of kids growing up without resources that will ensure their growth

There’s also the climate change angle because who the fuck knows what the world will look like in 30 years (guessing not great)

Due to an oddity of health insurance and drug manufacturer coupons we have our maximum out of pocket hit without spending any money.

If not for that, our baby would have cost us $40,000 out of pocket, out of about a $300,000 bill, in 1 year. That's pregnancy, screenings, birth, and a single cold from the first day of day care. The cold was $200,000 for a week in the hospital.

It's certainly doable but much more difficult, both parents must work now - nevermind single parents. Community is shot in general and families are spread out partially due to economic effects, people leave because they go where work is, the churn means roots are harder to put down and neoliberal individualism has kind of rotted out a lot of communities as well. It's hard to raise kids when you're on your own and there just aren't as many options for assistance. Wages have also been suppressed for quite some time so the money coming in just isn't meeting how much kids can cost.

So, is it feasible? Yeah, I see kids and families all the time. Is it more difficult in ways previous generations did not in general experience? Yeah, some of these struggles have been shared by many oppressed people historically but the widening of who struggles with raising children is new.

Just name your child after one of many, many businesses and you'll get some free shit

My child, Best Buy T.J. Maxx Subway is doing pretty good so far

It's hard to imagine a situation where it's not feasible to have children, short of an apocalyptic one

So far the only way it has been working out for me is a number of privileges I've not earned such as paying far far below market rent.

yeah. in fact i even hear some people are doin it.

and even if you don't, do what you can to nurture and help the children that are brought into this world.

yes, hardships never stop people from have kids

In the time of famines and wars in China, people (my grandparents and great grandparents) tend to have more kids. In less hard time, people stop having kids. There are a lot of factors at play, poor time requires people to not put all their chip in one place, a lot of family labour division needs a bigger household, there are a lot of community involvement (it requires a whole village to raise a child).

I love kids, I'm good with kids, always wanted them.

Decided not to have any. Climate change, capitalism, lack of nearby family for childcare, two working adults already have no time or energy without kids, and the fact America hates it's citizens and only cares if they can submit to a boss. I don't much like the world we live in and resent being born; I would have a lot of guilt bringing a child into the world

Idk comrade. I think for those of us who are back and forth about the subject who can conceive of an answer that would dissuade you from having children the biological directive isn't the motivation it used to be. There's plenty of people for whom there's no question and others still who have oopsie poopsies. If the future was theirs I wouldn't be too beat up about it. I struggle to find purpose, my temperament isn't often upbeat, and I struggle to find a partner to cherish. I don't like the political climate, the climate climate, or the economic climate on the horizon. A child feels like an obligation more than a desire to me and that immediately makes my internal referee throw a flag. That Islamic poet who talks about showing the world the love I had for your face would be what would make me have a child. I can't imagine any other reason. The child would be born to have a purpose - even born into a bleak world.

It’s a complicated answer if you live in the US.

Two costs that can make it unaffordable even for folks who are doing ok are daycare and health insurance. Those two expenses alone can be huge just for one child, much less two or more.

But, let’s say you have a grandparent who wants to watch your kid for free when you work and you have health insurance through work that covers your kids and isn’t too much $. Then honestly, kids aren’t THAT expensive and most working class folks could pull off having a kid or two.

The thing is, the entire child product industry is geared towards bougie parents because a lot of them will spend whatever and find ways to rationalize it. So when you go into the kids section of a store, it seems wildly expensive. But kids don’t eat much, second hand clothes and toys are dirt cheap (not like the kids care), and there are usually plenty of parents who want to just get rid of things like cribs and strollers.

Admittedly this is all geared towards younger kids, teens might be a lot more expensive idk.

It feels more and more like a bourgeois privilege to be able to have kids.

Which is obviously in conflict with the fact that it's an essential part of social reproduction, and has to happen at a large surplus for capitalism to sustain itself.

I don't think it's unethical or anything. Ethical codes kind of break down when you're talking about creating life I guess. Life perpetuating itself kinda just happens regardless of how bleak things get. And there's happiness to experience even in tumultuous times.

I can't imagine having kids though. I have a cat that is very important to me and he's already such a massive constraint on my ability to navigate the world as it is. Harder to find places to rent. Rent is more expensive. No longer feasible to live in my car. I have to put up with shit that I wouldn't otherwise have to because I know if I lose a job or have to move it'll be that much harder to get a home again. It feels like even having a pet is becoming a fucking bourgeois privilege. And that's just a cat. I don't even know how working class people manage having children nowadays. More expenses, have to manage schools and healthcare and everything, and you're responsible for an actual human who's gonna have to deal with their childhood experience for the rest of their life.

I can barely pay for myself

hell no

dont know how anyone manages it fuckin hell

Hypothetically, yes of course it is feasible. But below-replacement fertility rates all over the world shows that it's no longer practical.

The absolute confused horror show that is my immediate family and their several children they had with the first person they met has made me want to be celibate for the rest of my life.

My happiest uncle never had children. He rode on trains and hitchhiked to Alaska as a young man. Became an electrician and spent his free time hunting and fishing. Now he lives near the border in Arizona on small ranch with cows and horses.