This is a Nature Future, the story printed at the back of the magazine as food for thought. Perhaps only twenty percent of them present a future in which we'd like to live.
If the Future has driven HN to active discussion of an ethical topic, then it has succeeded in its purpose.
Unlike most of Nature, the Futures are free to read (and ~10% of them are compelling enough to make reading them all worthwhile).
Now reflect on your reaction to that piece. Even when on the side of the trader, it is still funny. You can be a trader and find that funny.
This is because of how the characters are treated in the piece. Essentially, it is ridiculing ideas while remaining sympathetic to the character that holds them, which is difficult to do well, but makes for a much more persuasive piece of satire that will be appreciated by a wider range of people.
The piece in Nature however is just preaching to the converted, and doing it in a way that will just entrench the views of anyone who identifies with the mother. Frankly, if they want to publish satirical sci-fi, they should pay someone who can do it well rather than embarrassing themselves like this. It reads like a teenage first attempt at short-story writing.
If the Future has driven HN to active discussion of an ethical topic, then it has succeeded in its purpose.
Unlike most of Nature, the Futures are free to read (and ~10% of them are compelling enough to make reading them all worthwhile).
(just scroll down to see the complete archive) http://www.nature.com/nature/focus/arts/futures/