AbstractPopulation planning often includes measures that are meant to enhance individuals’ lives by granting them more control over their reproduction; at times, population planning programs may even involve coercive measures. In the late 1970s, for example, China introduced a revolutionary “one-child” policy in order to curb the nation’s impressive demographic growth. In 2014, the Chinese government surprised the entire world by announcing its intention to end the controversial policy. With a population of 1.2 billion, China accounts for 21% of the world’s population. As a result, the country is likely to face grave social as well economic issues related with overpopulation in the years ahead. Yet, as they are faced with skewed male to female ratio as well as the rise of aging population. China permitted more than 10 million couples to apply to have their second child. With this, only 12 percent of the qualified couples connected. One optimal solution for the problem for this population problems of China would be through education. They should educate all the couples and even the teenagers of the consequences that their aging population might bring—which could be reduction in the manpower and thus, possible limited sustainability of their needs.
Introduction
Historically, population planning has been actualized with the objective of expanding the rate of human population development. Yet, between the 1950s and the 1980s, many policymakers realized that uncontrolled demographic growth represents a threat to the environment, and began developing new strategies to decrease the rate of human population growth. However, there are also nations that have been trying to stimulate demographic growth through ad hoc measures; Spain and Iran, for example, have been striving to boost their respective population growth rates (Bryant, 2008; Erdbrink, 2014). Even when population planning often include measures that enhance individuals’ lives by giving them more prominent control of their generation, a couple programs, most strikingly the Chinese government’s one-child policy approach, have depended on coercive measures. China, back in 2014, made a big news when it chose to end its popular “one-child” policy after over three decades. The approach that requires couples to have just a single kid, was as a standout amongst the most acclaimed social tests of the previous century. The present essay seeks to analyze the rationale behind China’s “one-child” policy so as to demonstrate that education, rather than coercive measures, is the best way to manage a nation’s population growth. It is only by sensitizing citizens to the social, environmental, political and economic implications of demographic growth that lawmakers can achieve sustainable results.
Population control is any technique used to control the location, number of individuals and type that inhabit the earth. Discussions and debate, however, is entirely restricted however to non-coercive means in accomplishing any of these objectives, particularly with respect to population cutback. A vital case of this would permit individuals the free decision on procreative matters. By utilizing different philosophies both financial and regulatory, and good education to deter individuals from having a bigger number of children than required, a steady population base can be made. It ought to be noted here that the predominant perspective of the world’s leaders is that Population control and ecological devastation are connected and that the previous contributes wildly to the last mentioned. This interpretation is foundational to comprehend the arrangements that are necessary by what is seen by lawmakers as a good method. In fact, the Nation Intelligence Council (NIC) held their Global Trends Conference they recognized seven key drivers that would shape the globe during that time 2015. Among them are socioeconomics, environment and natural resources.
China has highest number of people ion on the planet accounting for 21% of the world’s populace or 1.2 billion (Baculinao, 2017). China is faced with grave social as well economic issues related with overpopulation in future years. Excessively populated locales prompt corruption of land and assets, population and consequently, harsh living conditions. The Chinese government has attempted to discover an answer for the issue of expanding population with a modest victory (Population Control and Consequences in China, 2017).
There are many ways to control the population and among them are migration and technology. Migration is a technique where large number of individuals including families are relocated into other areas, regions or countries. This is accomplished through four means. Economic means would include financial assistance and job opportunities that would be desirable for people to migrate. War can also increase the desires of people to migrate in other peaceful areas with food access to natural resources. Disease prevalence in certain region would also increase migration rate as people would tend to seek for a healthier place to live in. And lastly, famine, which could also induce migration. Two types of migration—urbanization and cross border migration, are according to the central intelligence agency, would be prevalent in the coming years.
Technology on the other hand can also be used to take control of population. This is utilized in different control such as monitoring, tracking of possible terrorism and crime prevention in the society. Lessening population growth could be done in many other ways such as, higher tax assessment of guardians who have too many kids, contraceptive methods, forbearance, abortion option, one to two child policies and family planning. The methods picked can be firmly affected by the religious and social convictions of group individuals. At worst cases, different techniques for population control can prompt the utilization of abortion as arrangements.
China has utilized a few strategies to control population development. Soon after the foundation of the People’s Republic of China in 1949, Mao Zedong urged the population to duplicate and increase the labor force. There was no official arrangement, yet government denounced contraceptives and even restricted the import of a few. Thus, the population of China multiplied throughout the following couple of years. It was brief success. China’s nourishment supply was stressed out and the legislature turned around the crusade against contraceptives. From 1959 to 1961, the Great Chinese Famine eradicated millions of individuals (See How the One-Child Policy Changed China, 2017). In 1979, China began the “one child” for each family strategy. This arrangement expressed that nationals must acquire a birth endorsement before the birth of their kid. The residents would be offered uncommon advantages if they abide by the policy and approved on having one kid. On the other hand, the nationals who had more than one child would either be exhausted a sum up to 50% of their pay, or rebuffed by loss of work and other different rights and privileges. Besides this, spontaneous pregnancies or pregnancies without the correct approval would be ended.
In 1980, the birth-standard framework was set up to screen population growth. Under this framework, the administration set target objectives for every district. Nearby authorities were chiefly considered in charge of ensuring that population development did not surpass target objectives or target population limit. In the event that their goals in number were not met, the neighborhood authorities were being rebuffed by law or by loss of their benefits (Population Control and Consequences in China, 2017). Other population control techniques that have been utilized by the Chinese government to limit rising population sums incorporate conception prevention programs and financial changes. In the mid ’80’s, cleansing target objectives were set and made compulsory for individuals who had two youngsters. At its top in 1983, tubal ligations, vasectomies, and premature births added up to thirty-five percent of the aggregate conception prevention techniques.
In 2013, China permitted more than 10 million couples to apply to have their second child. With this, only 12 percent of the qualified couples connected. When one child policy finally ended in in 2016, most couples could be confined to two children. This effort actually addresses the problems of skewed male to female ration since traditional Chinese families prefer boys than girls and even resort to abortion when their child is not a male. Moreover, this could also ease the pressure of an aging population (Buckley, 2015). Yet, there is a potential increase in population as this one-child policy was lifted. The administration’s population control says that the government’s capacity to provide the citizen’s needs would surely be uptight.
However, that may not address the majority of the issues. Following the one-child strategy for quite a while, combined with new social and economic pressures to succeed, conditioned couples have chosen to stop reproducing after one kid, or even to not have them at all. The birth rates fell in those different nations not due to government intimidation, but rather in light of the fact that a great deal of families were content with only one youngster.
The report by National Population Development Plan in China for the years 2016-202- anticipated that a fourth of China’s population will be more than 60 years old by 2030, contrasted with just around 16 percent back in 2015. On the other hand, the population of workforce — those between 15 years old to 59 will be 80 million less in 2030 than in 2015, as indicated by an announcement Wednesday as per the China’s National Development and Reform Commission, referred to by the Wall Street Journal. The report predicts China’s population will top in 2030 at 1.45 billion. It remained at around 1.37 billion in 2015. Specialists propose that China’s demographic emergency is to some extent a legacy of its endeavor at population control through the one-child arrangement (Hanrahan and Baculinao, 2017).
One optimal solution for the problem for this population problems of China would be through education. They should educate all the couples and even the teenagers of the consequences that their aging population might bring—which could be reduction in the manpower and thus, possible limited sustainability of their needs. The following must be incorporated into school’s curricula, and be made available to China’s citizens in order for people to know the different options that they have. First is the availability and universal access to contraceptives offered to both sexes—male and female. All, especially girls, must also receive proper education where they can learn sexual education and how to control their pregnancy. Moreover, general bias must also be eliminated from the laws when it comes to health, opportunity and culture as this could balance out the number of births given to boys and girls since guardians would not hesitate giving to child of any sex. Moreover, there should also be proper government incentives given to people who boost childbearing to adjust in the aging population. And more importantly, there should be lessons on environment, development, and on population incorporated in many levels of school curricula (“Nine Population Strategies to Stop Short of 9 Billion | Worldwatch Institute”, 2017). After all is said and done, nothing beats proper education to inform people with regards to their responsibility to sustain their community and their nation.
Conclusion
China has been faced with two grave issues. First is the overpopulation and second is the skewed number of males and female ration that result to aging population and increasing generation gap. The first issue is quite resolved through implementation of one-child policy yet this was deemed problematic. In response to this, China permitted two children for every eligible couple but then, through social and economic pressures to succeed, people still choose to have one or no child at all. Overall, although there certainly is not one method to completely eradicate the problems on population—the Chinese government should choose to inform its citizens of the possible impacts that their population issues would have in their society in general affecting them consequently.
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