So, apparently, paid maternity leave is considered "women's liberation" by Norwegian feminists.
Having children is optional. Maternity leave is a perk, not an essential right. There was never a time in history when women could have children without giving things up. If maternity leave liberates women, so does getting rich. Yes, wealth technically offers liberty, but that's not what we usually mean when we talk about liberty. In other words, liberty is a negative right and maternity leave isn't.
2/ This isn't to say that I'm against maternity leave. I just object to calling it liberation, because liberty that comes at someone else's expense (employers and taxpayers in this case) isn't liberty, it's privilege. Maternity leave is a privilege that women in this country have. Let's see feminists try to sell their ideology while having to use the word "privilege" in all the appropriate places.
@thor I would say it's an important privilege, one that is usually properly funded and actually builds a stronger society; there are so few countries without paid maternity leave that it's hard to measure what it HAS done, so I guess one must look at variances. Taxes pay for things that we sometimes don't agree with, but in a capitalist society, it's how we've chosen to patch holes the private sector leaves open.
@sdm There is a big presumption behind all of this: The notion that a job is something that you're entitled to keep, and not just the rendering of services in return for money. In some respects, your right to keep your job is like the supermarket's right to keep you as a customer. There is no such right, of course, because everyone understands that this would be absurd.
@sdm My point of view is that I don't like mixed economies. Capitalism and socialism both fail at rewarding the right people.
Capitalism because it rewards hustling and random luck, not talent or ability. Socialism because it doesn't really offer rewards, only compensation.
@sdm It only makes sense because most people on this planet aren't capable business people, creating an uneven balance of power between those who are capable and those who are not, forcing us to put wage workers at an artificial advantage in order to even the score. It may produce the optimum result for society at large, but it definitely isn't equal treatment.