I've noticed that there is a certain portion of guys in TRP who not only defend having kids, but who suggest that procreating is a kind of genetic victory that every man should strive for. For the most part I'm probably preaching to the choir here, but I want to address this because it seems so insane to me.

While there's not much inherently wrong with having kids, there are many, many obvious disadvantages when it comes to one's own freedom in life. Given that personal responsibility and self-improvement are at the heart of everything productive and useful here, sacrificing one's own interests for the sake of simply making more people doesn't seem to fit. Child rearing may be satisfying, but the idea that you "win" biologically by having kids is so bizarre. What is the prize exactly?

Imagine there was a machine that could clone you a million times. But in order to do so, it also killed you instantly. Use the machine, and you would be the most genetically successful human to have ever lived. But you would also be dead, and therefore your biological success would be trivial with regards to your own experience. Would using the machine help you acheive any kind of rational goal?

My theory is that the guys supporting this idea of genetic success fall into two catagories: they either already have kids and want to rationalize their past actions, about which they can't do anything at this point (which I can sort of empathize with), or they are guys who interpret Darwinism as some kind prescriptive moral blueprint for life. Correct me if I'm wrong.