“The more clearly we see into the future, the better will we employ our energy in the present.”— Karl Kautsky, The Erfurt Program (1891)
“Exclude the idea of futurity, and forthwith the very notion of what is good and right would perish; nay, the whole scheme of the universe would become a dark and unfathomable mystery.”— Pope Leo XIII, Rerum Novarum (1891)
Guy Edward Bartkus, the suspect recently charged with suicide car-bombing a fertility clinic in California, was an efilist — a devotee of an extremist form of antinatalism.
Efilism, like all extreme ideologies today, is largely an internet phenomenon. Though broader interest in antinatalism — the belief that having kids is morally wrong — has been on the rise. Some believe that parents have no right to bring children into the world. One antinatalist in India sued his parents over the fact that he didn’t consent to being born. Others think that voluntary human extinction is the only solution to the suffering wrought by humanity. The founder of the Antinatalism International, Anugraha Kumar Sharma, argues that “there is absolutely no hope whatsoever in this world.” He advocates for unconditional voluntary assisted suicide and claims to be a Marxist.
Antinatalism isn’t necessarily a partisan ideology, though the sentiments are mirrored in quarters of the contemporary left. “Personally, I do not think it is obvious that we have any obligation to ensure humankind continues” argues Nathan Robinson, publisher of the left-wing magazine Current Affairs. “Let the manatees inherit the Earth.” Meanwhile, Antonio Melonio, a left-wing writer who edits the popular Beneath the Pavement Substack argues that having children is…
Auteur: Dustin Guastella
