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One Child Policy | General Paper Essay

“The world cannot accommodate a population of 9.6 billion people by 2050 without putting enormous strains on the earth’s resources. For the sake of future generations, every country should learn from China and implement a one-child policy.”


The one-child policy, a part of the family planning policy, was a population planning policy of China. It was introduced in 1979 and began to be formally phased out in 2015. The policy allowed many exceptions and ethnic minorities were exempt.

PROs

0. Combats Global Warming
China says its one-child policy has helped the fight against global warming by avoiding 300 million births, the equivalent of the population of the United States. "The climate crisis is a reproductive crisis,“  Beijing says that fewer people mean less demand for energy and lower emissions of heat-trapping gases from burning fossil fuels. But avoiding 300 million births "means we averted 1.3 billion tons of carbon dioxide in 2005" based on average world per capital emissions of 4.2 tons, he said.

1. Helps To Ease The Over Population Problems
China has a population of nearly one and a half billion people. They make up almost 20% of the entire world’s population. This is a scary number, especially because it has been consistently on the raise for decades. The food sources, government resources, educational and housing needs, and land in China is dwindling, and fast. This was the main reason that the One Child Policy was implemented in the first place. Since it’s beginning, it has prevented over 400 million births and helped to ease the overpopulation problem.

2. Certain Exceptions Are In Place
Certain circumstances will allow a couple to conceive and give birth to a second child. Very wealthy people can simply pay a (hefty) fine in order to gain the rights to have multiple children. If a couple has a severely handicapped child, they may also be permitted to have another baby. There are, however, no truly clear cut rules on the situation and it is up to the government officials to made a decision with each individual case.

3. Motivating Incentives To Complying Couples
Couples who comply with the One Child Policy, and only parent one baby, are given a certificate stating that they only have a single child. This certificate buys them some pretty good benefits. Some of these include completely interest-free loans, subsidies for education and housing, and a much longer maternity leave. All of these things are very beneficial to the Chinese people.

4. A Widely Accepted Policy
Surprisingly, a very large percentage of Chinese people are in favor of the One Child policy and believe that it has had many beneficial affects for the country. It was not nearly as accepted when it was first implemented, this was because of the long-rooted tradition in Chinese culture to have large families, but has since become much more supported.

5. Greatly Lowered The Poverty Rate
The problem of overcrowding wasn’t just a matter of space. Jobs became very sparse, as well as food and other resources necessary to live a comfortable and healthy life. Because of the huge growth in people, many were living in extreme poverty conditions. After the one-child policy took effect, the poverty rate slowly began to decline in the country.

CONs
1. Abortion and Infanticide Rates Climb
The biggest issue with the One Child policy in China is the alarming rate at which children are being killed or abandoned, mostly girls. Since only one child can be had, the overwhelming majority want to have boys. Boys provide labor, money making potential, and a namesake for the family. This fact has surged a number of infant children, majority girls, who are abandoned or even killed after they are born. Later term abortions are also very common, once the gender of the baby is revealed. Abortion rates are also tremendously high because if a couple already has a child, they are “forced” to abort if they become pregnant with another.

2. The Little Emperor Syndrome
Having an only child, or being an only child, means that the attention and resources of the parents are focused solely on them for their entire lives. This has caused multiple problems among the youth in China. Obesity being one of the most concerning. The child is catered to, over indulged, and given just about anything that they want. This has resulted in lazy and overweight children in most of China. Another issue is the overall attitude of these one child policy offspring. They have a feeling of entitlement and feel as though they are emperors. Hence, “little emperor syndrome”.

3. High Pressure For The Child
If you are your parents only child, many responsibilities and pressures fall upon your shoulders. All of the expectations that your parents have are left for you to achieve, especially when it comes to education and careers. The suicide rate in China is much higher than most other countries because of this stress. Another problem that these children face as they grow older is the fact that they are the only person that can take care of their aging parents and grandparents. This has resulted in a bit of a disaster for China, which is being referred to as the 4-2-1 problem. In Chinese culture, the child takes care of the elders in the family when they are no longer able to take care of themselves. This leaves four grandparents, two parents, and only one child to take care of them all.

4. Major Gender Imbalance
The majority of the population in China is male due to the fact that people can only have one child, and a boy is the only one that can provide money making potential and carry the families name forward. A major imbalance in males and females has resulted for the country. This will cause problems in the near future because it will become increasingly harder for a man to find a wife to bear him children.

5. Other Problems That Are Arising
Some of the other issues that the One Child Policy in China has been causing for the country are a dwindling workforce. The population is still massive, but now the majority of Chinese people are elderly, leaving not enough people to sustain the countries massive labor needs. Another major problem with this policy is the infringement it has on the moral and ethical values that a family wishes to adopt.

6. Religious associations with Birth Control
Birth control is unlikely to find favor as a major policy theme, partly because of opposition by the Catholic Church and some developing nations trying to increase their population.

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