Functional Families: There’s enough to go around

Van Campen Family Portrait in a Landscape (early 1620s)

I have become very aware lately that our media and radio personalities tend to highlight the dysfunction found in the most fundamental unit of our society – the family (or as Grandmammy says, famdams). This post will hopefully bring a little balance, and perhaps some optimism, to the modern family.

I want to start off with some hard-hitters. Don't be alarmed. It's okay!! If you get overwhelmed then please don't hesitate to grab your towel and place it on your head. *nerd* (WHO KNOWS THAT REFERENCE??! Super-kind-of-me hint: "A towel, it says, is about the most massively useful thing an interstellar hitchhiker can have.")

Here we go: how many kids do you think a modern family should have? Now that you’re thinking about it…do you think the world is overpopulated and could really use a few less "carbon footprints"? Lots of people = a major depletion in resources, problems for our future chances of civilization, global warming, and a collapse in our global economy ...right?

Prepare to have your mind blown by science. If you are curious about any of these questions then the following documentary is for you:

PS. Listeeen, it’s awesome that you want to watch the whole thing – you overachiever you – but I think you’ll get the meat (or tofu...) of it if you just watch the first few minutes of Part 1 and the middle of Part 2.

Part 1


Part 2

The following are questions you will have answered by the end of this documentary:

• Less people the better right? 
• Are "big" families wrong?
• Does the media really influence perceptions of world population growth/decrease?
• What about Mexico? There will always be a lot of people eager to come here from Meso-America right?
• Will our economy change with less people?
• What's human capital? Why does human capital or even moral capital matter?