China's Population Implosion, Explained
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.
The economist Ludwig von Mises once said, “Planning other people’s actions means to prevent them from planning for themselves, [which] means to deprive them of their essentially human quality, [which] means enslaving them.”
This quote comes to mind when I think about China’s barbaric one-child policy, which was rescinded in 2015.
Even as a child, I remember thinking there was something truly outrageous about China’s infamous policy. Why should the government get to decide how many children you have?
A friend’s mother tried to explain to me once why it was necessary for China to implement such a policy. They had so many people, and there were too many mouths to feed.
This made a certain amount of sense to my 10-year-old brain, but over the years I couldn’t escape the feeling that China’s policy was deeply wrong.
In my most recent article for the American Institute of Economic Research, I explore the crazy origins of China’s policy, which was pioneered by a military scientist in the late 1970s.
Decades later, the results of China’s experiment are in, and they are worse than almost anyone realizes. Researchers at Shanghai Academy of Social Sciences & Victoria University recently rolled out new projections showing what China’s population is expected to be in 2100.
Is it: A) 2 billion B) 1.5 billion C) 1 billion D) 525 million
I think the answer will surprise you.
I know several young American women who are convinced that they will never want children. They believe that children will ruin their potential.
Americas population growth is being controlled in several ways.
Unless I’m mistaken, one of the big disasters here is - too many men - too few women.