The Politicization of Procreation: The Ultimate in “the Personal Is Political”
In the ultimate example of “the personal is political,” families form, break up, or expand due to US presidential elections according to a recent article in the American Economic Review. Apparently, the alternative responses of doom or elation that occasions electoral politics is so extreme that the losers couldn’t bear to bring a child into such a world, while the winners . . . well, you know.
In setting the stage for this phenomenon, the authors noted that
when Trump was elected, Democrats’ satisfaction with “the way things are going in the United States” fell from 43 to 13 percent, while Republicans’ surged from 12 to 46 percent . . . these swings by partisan orientation are large, immediate, and persistent and especially so after the unexpected victory of President Trump in the 2016 election. Similarly, after the 2020 Presidential election, Democratic and Republican optimism rapidly exchanged positions.
But are these electoral mood swings enough to alter peoples’ decisions about bringing new life into the world? In short, yes.
In a thymological exercise, the authors explain that electoral outcomes alter peoples’ views about potential policy changes and their effects on everyday life, economic optimism, and changing beliefs about the political and social climate. Put simply, beliefs about future conditions are a part of the “valuations and volitions” behind human action
Article from Mises Wire
