Lucy, this is a brilliant critique. I haven’t read Oster’s books but I’ve read articles about her work, and now your blog post, so take my perception of her POV with a grain of salt. It does seem to speak to a very narrowly defined class of people who do have a choice of 8 hours of work, 3 hours of children (or whatever their own personal preference is), without taking into account the labor of the people who care for the children the other 21 hours, and what choices are available to them. There are entire networks of other caregivers who, no doubt, aren’t paid the income Oster earns—those networks support Oster’s choice. Your right to imagine how all of this could work more equitably.
Lucy, this is a brilliant critique. I haven’t read Oster’s books but I’ve read articles about her work, and now your blog post, so take my perception of her POV with a grain of salt. It does seem to speak to a very narrowly defined class of people who do have a choice of 8 hours of work, 3 hours of children (or whatever their own personal preference is), without taking into account the labor of the people who care for the children the other 21 hours, and what choices are available to them. There are entire networks of other caregivers who, no doubt, aren’t paid the income Oster earns—those networks support Oster’s choice. Your right to imagine how all of this could work more equitably.