Men are Obsolete

This highly offensive notion was the title and subject of a recent Munk Debate.

While the question was about men the organisers saw fit not to include any men in the debate. Apparently they ascribe to the notion that only women are entitled to discuss gender issues.

The above Munk debate was followed by an article in TIME by the same name by one of the participants, Hanna Rosin.

An individual who is obsolete has no responsibilities or work to do. It follows that men are not obsolete. Society continues to rely on wide range of, often dirty and distasteful, jobs that are overwhelmingly performed by men. Those who write blog posts and articles critical of men often do so on computer systems and networks and on infrastructure overwhelmingly designed, built and maintained by men.

Men who form the opinion that they are obsolete aren't going to curl up and die. They will go on living - and they will go on living for themselves. Anyone who regards themselves as obsolete can live for themselves - free of obligations to others.

Do women need men?
It appears that many young women today believe they really do not need men. They may have children with donor sperm and happily live as a single parent. Leaving aside the fact that sperm originates with men, these women do need men. They apparently fail to recognise that the reason there were so few single mothers in ancient times is that survival as a single mother is extremely difficult without external support and in ancient times that support often did not exist. What has changed, and what allows for so many single mothers today, is that society has built a safety net which these single mothers draw from. This safety net is maintained principally through the contributions of men. Men on average contribute far more to the state than they draw from it. They produce a surplus which is available for the state to redistribute. The principal benefactors of this surplus are women. Women typically contribute far less from the state but draw far more from it.

Whereas in the past a woman would have relied on the men in her family to support her, now she relies on men she has never met to support her. Either way she is dependent on men for her well being and survival.