I would like to understand more about why it is that children are punished physically. My impression is that it’s something that occurs in many different cultures and becomes less common as people become wealthier. These facts suggest to me that it’s not something parents want to do (because as they get richer, they stop doing it) but it has some kind of utility (because it’s done in so many different cultures).
For what it’s worth, I was punished physically as a child (more than is typical in the developed world, I think) and I’m pretty skeptical that this should be a top EA cause area, for various reasons. But it sounds like you don’t think anecdotes like these count for much.
I would like to understand more about why it is that children are punished physically. My impression is that it’s something that occurs in many different cultures and becomes less common as people become wealthier. These facts suggest to me that it’s not something parents want to do (because as they get richer, they stop doing it) but it has some kind of utility (because it’s done in so many different cultures).
For what it’s worth, I was punished physically as a child (more than is typical in the developed world, I think) and I’m pretty skeptical that this should be a top EA cause area, for various reasons. But it sounds like you don’t think anecdotes like these count for much.