Rachel Wiseman

Anastasia Berg

A modern argument, grounded in philosophy and cultural criticism, about childbearing ambivalence and how to overcome it Becoming a parent, once the expected outcome of adulthood, is increasingly viewed as a potential threat to the most basic goals and aspirations of modern life. We seek self-fulfillment; we want to liberate women to find meaning and self-worth outside the home; and we wish to protect the planet from the ravages of climate change. Weighing the pros and cons of having children, Millennials and Zoomers are finding it increasingly difficult to judge in its favor. With lucid argument and passionate prose, Anastasia Berg and Rachel Wiseman offer the guidance necessary to move beyond uncertainty. The decision whether or not to have children, they argue, is not just a women’s issue but a basic human one. And at a time when climate change worries threaten the very legitimacy of human reproduction, Berg and Wiseman conclude that neither our personal nor collective failures ought to prevent us from embracing the fundamental goodness of human life—not only in the present but, in choosing to have children, in the future.

On Ambivalence and Choice

What Are Children For?

Having children is one of the biggest decisions you’ll make in your life. Increasingly, we aren’t making it at all. A NEW STATESMAN BEST BOOK OF 2024 'A book for lovers of sound reasoning.' THE NEW YORKER Across the developed world, fewer and fewer people are becoming parents. We seek self-fulfilment; we want women to find meaning and self-worth outside the household; we wish to protect the planet from the ravages of climate change; we do what we can to protect others from senseless suffering. On the face of it, none of these goals are served by having children. Amid such pressures, how on earth can we make the choice to do so? Anastasia Berg and Rachel Wiseman offer a way out of this inertia and indecision by reminding us that in making the individual decision whether to have children, we confront a profound philosophical question: for all its pains and failures, is human life worth living? What Are Children For? is a stirring call to overcome fear and dread and embrace the value of human existence and a human future.

Ursula Lindsey

Jonny Thakkar

Gal Katz

Andrew Kay

Jesse McCarthy

Frank Guan

Nora Caplan-Bricker

Phillipa Snow

Jonathan Baskin

Ollie Cussen

Robert Kehoe III

Ben Jeffrey

John Thomason

Anton Barba-Kay

This issue of The Point features the symposium question "What are intellectuals for?", essays on feminist utopias, consent after the #MeToo movement, wrestling in Paris, Lindsay Lohan as David Lynch Girl, and more. e

What Are Intellectuals For?

Issue 16

Rachel Wiseman

Books

Your next favorite book is out there