I am begining to wonder if the concept family is past its use by date.
The Families commission has just released a report showing just how horrible and dangerous family life is. Especially for women, one in three will be assaulted by her "partner" But men don't escaped unscathed either, one in five will be assaulted by his "partner".
We don't need families to perpetuate the species any more.
With modern science we could set up a Ministry of Reproduction. This ministry would collect genetic profiles of all New Zealanders and determine the optimum genetic make up of the next generation. The Ministry boffins could match a particular female to a particular male, they wouldn't have to meet. A letter would be sent to the male first telling him to report to the closest Ministry clinic for sperm collection, likewise for the woman who would report to her local clinic for egg donation.
After fertilization in a petrie dish, the egg would be implanted in one of the Ministry of Reproductions low level employees, the Birth-Mother.
A Birth-Mothers job description would be the gestation and care of infants up to one year of age.
When the infant becomes a year old the Birth-Mother would hand it over to a Ministry of Child Development home where it would be raised in an environment where it could be steeped in the values of the Modern Liberal State and groomed for whatever function the State determined most appropriate for this particular child at the time they had ordered its conception1.
The cycle could then begin anew for the Birth-Mother.
All this is feasible with modern reproductive technology and family violence would be a thing of the past.
Why are we waiting?
(1) Discipline in these homes would be firm, loving and appropriate - not a smack in sight.
The Families commission has just released a report showing just how horrible and dangerous family life is. Especially for women, one in three will be assaulted by her "partner" But men don't escaped unscathed either, one in five will be assaulted by his "partner".
We don't need families to perpetuate the species any more.
With modern science we could set up a Ministry of Reproduction. This ministry would collect genetic profiles of all New Zealanders and determine the optimum genetic make up of the next generation. The Ministry boffins could match a particular female to a particular male, they wouldn't have to meet. A letter would be sent to the male first telling him to report to the closest Ministry clinic for sperm collection, likewise for the woman who would report to her local clinic for egg donation.
After fertilization in a petrie dish, the egg would be implanted in one of the Ministry of Reproductions low level employees, the Birth-Mother.
A Birth-Mothers job description would be the gestation and care of infants up to one year of age.
When the infant becomes a year old the Birth-Mother would hand it over to a Ministry of Child Development home where it would be raised in an environment where it could be steeped in the values of the Modern Liberal State and groomed for whatever function the State determined most appropriate for this particular child at the time they had ordered its conception1.
The cycle could then begin anew for the Birth-Mother.
All this is feasible with modern reproductive technology and family violence would be a thing of the past.
Why are we waiting?
(1) Discipline in these homes would be firm, loving and appropriate - not a smack in sight.