The only thing consistent in China’s schizophrenic approach to population control over the last century is this: central planners, not individual families, get to choose.
Population Bomb was required reading in my college courses in the 70’s. I was totally skeptical, and none of his dire consequences were true; never came to fruition. Now Bill Gates and WHO are pushing this same crap!
Sprinkled in this column are a couple of comments on why these extreme measures weren’t widely adopted in the U.S. For me it comes down to our Constitution and Bill of Rights. Those founding documents have proven the test of time and history as some of if not the greatest governing documents in history.
Beware of those trying to change or circumvent them. Planned Parenthood decided to do an end run around with population control via abortion. Radical progressives are talking about how the constitution is outdated and should be replaced. Biden saying “no right is absolute”. When a political party or radical wants to change these principles, what they really want is more control over your lives.
“In the last 80 years China has swerved from pro-natal sentiment, to anti-natal sentiment, to anti-natal policy, to pro-natal sentiment, and likely to pro-natal policy soon,” wrote economist Peter Jacobsen.
My late good friend Dick Vaughan, after a term in state government, came up with a rule we called Vaughan's Law:
"There will always be a government, but nobody knows how to run a government."
One might say whatever one does abut our incompetent royal mobsters, but will that dissolve their persistent structure or quiet the coverage of their clamorous planning?
Once again, China's one-child policy is yet another prevailing example why "trusting the experts" is a very, very bad idea. It kind of reminds me of Kate L. Mary's Beyond Trilogy, where The Society dictates how many kids each set of mates (one male and one female who are paired based on being genetic matches) can have. Some families are in the one-child cycle and others, two children. Either way, the concept is similar.
Enjoyed it. Mixed two topics there. Otherwise very clear.
One topic is central planning picking a solution and pushing it too far.
Another is, a system where criticism of the center is illegal and bad solutions end up unchallenged and cause pain.
We go through bad solutions all the time, just look at modern governments in the West. Lots of crises. But chances to affect them are greater because we are still able to criticize politicians and their choices.
There is the possibility that the Chinese have actually and perhaps accidentally gotten it right in the long run...China is importing most of its food, and at some point there will not be enough food to import...Topsoil and water aquifers are being depleted, and the world production of oil has peaked and will begin to decline...Historic population of China was less than 200 million, which is representative of its ability to feed itself....
Nope. It wasn’t foreseeable the vast drop in fertility and birth rates. Iran in one generation has gone from 7 children per female to 1.7! China at 4 children per female if that had continued would have probably hit 4B by 2200. Ehrlich was a typical fascist, but he wasn’t wrong. For some reason though a typical family of 8 kids became 5 kids, then 3, and is now about 1.5. Lots of hindsight reasons. But none of them were foreseeable.
If you have more money you will have fewer children was not true before. It is now.
Feminism denigrating Motherhood is another. But who could have foreseen MOTHERS being denigrated? People wanting giant home is another. You have three kids and you likely have four bedrooms, a children’s play room, and 4.5 bathrooms. In my day many many homes were 800-900 sf with three bedrooms and one bathroom. Kids shared rooms.
"some of the most powerful institutions in the West — the World Bank, the Ford Foundation, the Swedish International Development Authority, and the Rockefeller Foundation — began advocating forced sterilization, a policy supported by Ehrlich."
Of course, we could start taxing to the hilt such institutions and maybe that would be better than screaming "Tariff" all the time.
We could also go after the war mongering think tanks as well (CFR etc.) and balance the budget.
Population Bomb was required reading in my college courses in the 70’s. I was totally skeptical, and none of his dire consequences were true; never came to fruition. Now Bill Gates and WHO are pushing this same crap!
Sprinkled in this column are a couple of comments on why these extreme measures weren’t widely adopted in the U.S. For me it comes down to our Constitution and Bill of Rights. Those founding documents have proven the test of time and history as some of if not the greatest governing documents in history.
Beware of those trying to change or circumvent them. Planned Parenthood decided to do an end run around with population control via abortion. Radical progressives are talking about how the constitution is outdated and should be replaced. Biden saying “no right is absolute”. When a political party or radical wants to change these principles, what they really want is more control over your lives.
"When a political party or radical wants to change these principles"
Well that's exactly why the Second Amendment exists. The Chinese -- like most populations globally -- lack the means to effectively resist tyranny.
“In the last 80 years China has swerved from pro-natal sentiment, to anti-natal sentiment, to anti-natal policy, to pro-natal sentiment, and likely to pro-natal policy soon,” wrote economist Peter Jacobsen.
My late good friend Dick Vaughan, after a term in state government, came up with a rule we called Vaughan's Law:
"There will always be a government, but nobody knows how to run a government."
It is easy to understand the proper operation of government once one realizes that it is, as Rothbard contends, "organized crime writ large,"
Or could one say, "disorganized crime writ large?"
One might say whatever one does abut our incompetent royal mobsters, but will that dissolve their persistent structure or quiet the coverage of their clamorous planning?
We're going to have an African shortage!
Paki rape gangs to the rescue!
Whatever shall we do without our precious H1B hires!
Tren de Arugula should have as many nuclear scientists as they want!
Once again, China's one-child policy is yet another prevailing example why "trusting the experts" is a very, very bad idea. It kind of reminds me of Kate L. Mary's Beyond Trilogy, where The Society dictates how many kids each set of mates (one male and one female who are paired based on being genetic matches) can have. Some families are in the one-child cycle and others, two children. Either way, the concept is similar.
Enjoyed it. Mixed two topics there. Otherwise very clear.
One topic is central planning picking a solution and pushing it too far.
Another is, a system where criticism of the center is illegal and bad solutions end up unchallenged and cause pain.
We go through bad solutions all the time, just look at modern governments in the West. Lots of crises. But chances to affect them are greater because we are still able to criticize politicians and their choices.
There could be a fascinating story in there somewhere but the writing is fkn atrocious.
There is the possibility that the Chinese have actually and perhaps accidentally gotten it right in the long run...China is importing most of its food, and at some point there will not be enough food to import...Topsoil and water aquifers are being depleted, and the world production of oil has peaked and will begin to decline...Historic population of China was less than 200 million, which is representative of its ability to feed itself....
The demographic collapse narrative of the 21st century looks an awful lot like the demographic explosion narrative of the 20th century.
Nope. It wasn’t foreseeable the vast drop in fertility and birth rates. Iran in one generation has gone from 7 children per female to 1.7! China at 4 children per female if that had continued would have probably hit 4B by 2200. Ehrlich was a typical fascist, but he wasn’t wrong. For some reason though a typical family of 8 kids became 5 kids, then 3, and is now about 1.5. Lots of hindsight reasons. But none of them were foreseeable.
If you have more money you will have fewer children was not true before. It is now.
Feminism denigrating Motherhood is another. But who could have foreseen MOTHERS being denigrated? People wanting giant home is another. You have three kids and you likely have four bedrooms, a children’s play room, and 4.5 bathrooms. In my day many many homes were 800-900 sf with three bedrooms and one bathroom. Kids shared rooms.
"some of the most powerful institutions in the West — the World Bank, the Ford Foundation, the Swedish International Development Authority, and the Rockefeller Foundation — began advocating forced sterilization, a policy supported by Ehrlich."
Of course, we could start taxing to the hilt such institutions and maybe that would be better than screaming "Tariff" all the time.
We could also go after the war mongering think tanks as well (CFR etc.) and balance the budget.