> Anyone examining this issue must acknowledge this straightforward truth, alongside the reality that our present culture is steering us away from the desired path
I agree that our present culture is steering us away from our path, but see no evidence given for why that path ought to be the desired one.
Old age payments might be a problem under the current system, yes. But the way I see it is the cultural shift explored here will simply increase innovation, and either immigration or increases in productivity would also solve that problem.
In terms of desirability, undefined: this generation decides how many children they wish to produce; the next generation gets to decide, having seen the available inputs, how they'll allocate their resources.
In terms of necessity, 0 is an obvious lower bound. An upper bound is difficult to state, but given the low (in vivo anyway) litter size, 32 might be appropriate? Roughly: from 0 to more than 10 but less than 100? (0 to more than 16 but less than 64?)
I agree that our present culture is steering us away from our path, but see no evidence given for why that path ought to be the desired one.
Old age payments might be a problem under the current system, yes. But the way I see it is the cultural shift explored here will simply increase innovation, and either immigration or increases in productivity would also solve that problem.