It might be a good solution to infertility; but since infertility is not the main cause of dwindling population, artificial babies probably won't be effective in solving the general population crisis.
People who don't want to raise kids probably also wouldn't want to raise artificial kids.
If the kids are put in state's care, well, current society can't take good care of existing orphans. How are we going to handle more parent-less kids?
> If the kids are put in state's care, well, current society can't take good care of existing orphans. How are we going to handle more parent-less kids?
I have two children whom I have tried quite conscientiously to not expose to the more toxic parts of our culture. They have, to my knowledge, never watched any of the sitcoms where some significant fraction of the comedy revolves around parents and other adults complaining about having children/families. None of the standup comedians of that ilk (supposing that's still a part of their schtick). I avoid anything that talks about how "your carbon footprint will be smaller if you just don't have kids". They weren't really aware of the term "overpopulation".
Most of all, I've always talked quite fondly and genuinely of having become a father myself.
And, now, even as teenagers, they seem to look forward to the idea of becoming parents themselves one day.
I don't have a large sample size, and it's hardly scientific, but the biggest problem I think is that our culture revels in how awful parenting is. The act of believing that idea causes people to be incapable of enjoying it. I also suspect rather strongly that it is more than just some arbitrary meme that bounces around in everyone's collective heads, instead the idea itself causes people to fail to enjoy parenting and to avoid it. It becomes this self-fulfilling prophecy, should they fail to achieve lasting childlessness.
Why should such a culture deserve to even survive? Your civilization requires that people continue to reproduce, but shows nothing but contempt for the concept. It shows contempt for itself. All of the very ideals this civilization embraces and exalts seem contrary to reproduction, and no one shows any awareness that that would have to change, let alone interest in making the changes.
I'm not quite sure how your comment is a response to mine, despite you replying to me and quoting my words. I don't personally have contempt to parenthood or the act of reproduction, and I don't see how it's related to my doubt that societies would be able to take care of artificial reproduced kids, given the poor state of existing care for orphans.
You're talking about how society can't take care of existing orphans. I pointed out how it can't even take care of itself.
Also, orphans is an interesting word. This isn't Charles Dickens' London. There really aren't all that many orphans anymore. No big wars, plagues with that one exception are rather uncommon. Don't even do the thing where we steal the infants of unwed teenagers or natives anymore. When some rich people want to adopt, they usually end up having to fly halfway around the world to purchase them from warlords and conmen.
People who don't want to raise kids probably also wouldn't want to raise artificial kids.
If the kids are put in state's care, well, current society can't take good care of existing orphans. How are we going to handle more parent-less kids?