Bryan Caplan on why lazy parenting is actually OK

Abstract

Bryan Caplan, an economist, argues that conventional wisdom about parenting’s importance for children’s outcomes is mistaken. Caplan cites twin and adoption studies that show modest to negligible impacts of parenting on a variety of adult outcomes, such as educational attainment, income, health, personality, and happiness. Caplan also argues against the Self-Interested Voter Hypothesis, which posits that people vote based on narrow self-interest. Instead, he suggests that voters are often motivated by broader social concerns and group identities, as exemplified by the tendency for people to support policies that benefit their social groups even if they do not personally benefit. Caplan’s views on free will and the nature of consciousness also diverge from common philosophical positions. He argues for a form of libertarian free will, asserting that people have genuine, unconstrained agency to choose between different courses of action. Finally, he discusses the effective altruism movement, recognizing its commitment to good causes but suggesting that its emphasis on “doing” rather than simply “talking” should be further emphasized. – AI-generated abstract