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Why You Should Have at Least Three Kids
How to leave the world better than you found it
One of the most uncomfortable questions you will ever face is whether or not the life you actually lead justifies the gift of life you’ve been given.
Sooner or later, you’re going to feel the pull of significance; the desire to do something useful with your time here on Earth. To have things be changed for the better because of your actions. To cheat death by building something bigger than yourself — something that will live on even when you’re gone.
As it happens, the easiest way for most people to build something bigger than themselves is by having kids. If by not having kids you can devote your life to curing cancer or to taking care of the poor like Mother Theresa, great! But if not having kids just enables more consumerism and hedonism, you’re in serious danger of being crushed under the question of whether your life was significant.
Civilization is entirely dependent on children
There are at least three senses in which this is true:
Having children civilizes adults
A free society can’t hold together if people only ever think of themselves. If no one takes on responsibility and commits to…