Stallman: Why it is important not to have children (2012)

Western people aren't even replacing themselves without immigration Europe would be in a population decline.

The US still has a positive natural population growth but many countries do not.

I find the arguments for not having children a disastrous one.

Reproduction is effectively our prime directive as a life form. Furthermore it's utterly ironic that the people that could care for their offsprings the most seem to have the least interest in reproduction.

And arguably the best way to avoid and ecological disaster is to reproduce and teach the next generation better, with each child we also increase the chance of someone being born that will have a huge impact on society, technology and culture.

Seems like he forgot that he himself was a child. He wouldn't exist to say this if not. Ironic!

Not replacing ourself is a good thing. We are too many, and right now we want the population to grow because our economical system depend on it. This is reverse thinking. We have economical problems because there are too many of us. Too many to feed. Too many to host. Too many with a car, a smartphone, heaters in the winter, and eating meat 5 times a week.

We would have zero resources problem with 1/3 or our current population. Pollution, climat change, administration issues, education... All that stuff are way harder because there are too many of us.

Of course, we could consume less, but since we are unable to do that, being a smaller number is a much easier solution.

There is also a very unhealty "cult of having children". People that don't have children are considered incomplete and looked down. It's a must have, a goal you are supposed to try to reach in your live.

And of course, there is the fact most people I met in my life suck at being parent. They are feeding and clothing their children, but their ability to educate is terrible, and they spend years at training their children to have the same fear and ignorance they have. The children that were creative, full of energy, of potential, turn into the same zombies their parent are. Scared, unable to create something. Unhappy.

So no, you are not a bad person for having children. But it's sane to say most people should at least consider not having any. There should be a debate. It should not be obvious.

Raising children correctly is one of the hardest job ever, yet, most people have children almost without thinking about it. It is scary.