Even if you are able to bury your head in the sand to the environmental worries of overpopulation, you still run into the societal problems. Overcrowding in our cities the world over has sparked tension, violence, and general discontentment. It seems the violent crime rate is constantly on the increase as the population swells. I often hear people argue that not having children is selfish. They like to imply that the main reason people fail to procreate is due to a lack of maturity that includes an unwillingness to make the necessary sacrifices. I think this argument goes both ways. What drives you to create your own offspring when there are plenty of children in the world who do not have parents of their own to look after them? Some psychologists might say you are adhering to a biological imperative to pass on your genetic material, thereby propagating the species, but I would say that maybe there is something more. Ego is a factor here… YES ego. The need to have some part of you last beyond your death. People so frequently see themselves in their children and desire offspring to survive them and in some way carry on their legacies. How selfish and vain is THAT??

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