In the same vein as the “Earth: Where to Colonize” thought experiment from a few months ago, I present this discussion topic: baby licenses.
Lots of places, you need to have a license for a pet dog. You need to have a license for a sidearm, or to have a lemonade stand or to do roof repair, dentistry makeup, hairstyling. And yet, we let just anybody have babies.
It’s a common enough trope in futuristic sci-fi to have “baby licenses.” But what would actually make a *good* regulatory system here? The problem is that it’s really easy to see how such a system could quickly turn into a dystopian nightmare… licenses doled out not based on a rational set of metrics, but due to political favors, bribery, nepotism, etc. And what happens when someone has more babies than allowed? That has been the subject of many a dark short story or short subject film.
But it may come about that some form of reproduction-regulation becomes necessary. China tried with their one-baby policy, which they’ve recently abandoned. In some future Lunar colony, or on a generation-starship, or a free-flying habitat… or just in an overcrowded US or UK or Sweden it may be necessary to say “ok, enough, we need to clamp down on the baby-making for a while.” This idea might *also* be applied for “Ark Selection” purposes… who gets to ride the rocket to Bronson Beta when the time comes.
So… let’s say the decision came down that only half of the couples in the land were going to be allowed to have a baby. What would make a good set of regulations?
My own thoughts: computerize the selection process to the maximum degree possible. And any humans involved are under *intense* scrutiny, with massive penalties for screwing with the system. Additionally, include a sizable truly random lottery. Lots of people are going to be shut out of the process, and they’ll know it; and when many people find out they’re not going to be allowed to reproduce they can get twitchy. A *trusted* lottery where people who want can toss their ID’s into the hat can serve as a relief valve for those who know they won’t be selected otherwise.
Some ideas…
Things that would be used to exclude:
1: A criminal record
2: Transferable genetic diseases
3: Crazy
4: Stupid
5: Poor. Sure, that one would *really* set off some folks… but let’s face it, if you’re poor, maybe you shouldn’t have more mouths to feed.
6: Being a general screwup
Things that would be used to get you a license:
1: Achievement (good and vague right there). If you have proven useful to society, not only do we want to reward you (assuming, of course, you *want* a baby), we want more like you.
2: Being rich. Rather than bribery, though, make it possible to outright purchase baby licenses for yourself. Something impressive like a million bucks a pop, or perhaps even a sliding scale (say, a million bucks until your net worth rises to $10 million… and from that point on it’s $1M plus 5% of your net worth). Beyond the funds-raising potential, you *want* the rich to have as many children as practical… because then the fortunes will presumably get split up among the many heirs, rather than passed down in a straight line. Make having many kids be a new status symbol.
3: Being physically and mentally fit.
I’d argue against making a baby license transferable, since if it was it could by criminals.
So: for a reasonable, rational, *just* system… what would the baby licensing system look like? Discuss.