Overpopulation and China's One Child Policy

 

Today we will dive into quotes from the article titled "China's one child policy: the policy that changed the world." Begin by reading these first two paragraphs. 

"The Chinese one child policy is unique in the history of the world. It was a source of great pain for one generation, but a generation later it began to yield important economic benefits. For China, and the world as a whole, the one child policy was one of the most important social policies ever implemented.

Rapid population growth is an unforgiving task master. Even with the one child policy—as a result of the high birth rate a generation before—China still has one million more births than deaths every five weeks. The Chinese State Council launched the policy in 1979, ‘so the rate of population growth may be brought under control as soon as possible...

He said that unless the birth rate fell rapidly, 'we will not be able to develop our economy, and raise the living standards of our people.'2 Economists and demographers now recognise that a falling birth rate offers a demographic dividend, as the economically productive proportion of the population grows more rapidly than the general population.3,4 Without a rapid decline in fertility, China's economy would not have grown by 7-8% a year over the past decade; such growth has lifted an unprecedented 150 million people out of abject poverty.

Could China ever have achieved the same results without the one child policy?'" (Potts and Bixby, 2006) 

Now I pose some questions that will hopefully get us thinking. Do we have children for the purpose of helping the environment? Or is the environment here to help the children? Is it right to control the number of births in a given area? How large and accurate is the fear that the world could overpopulate? This is why China has taken the stance to take control of this in hopes of bringing economic success. How does God measure success? Is there such thing as too much population? Many studies have changed political laws on how things are run due to the danger of this thought. But how does God see it? 

In D&C 59:9-20 we find that the blessings for keeping God's sabbath day holy and keeping the commandments. It says that "... Inasmuch as ye do this, the fulness (footnote says "abundant life) of the earth is yours, the beasts of the field and the fowls of the air, and that which climbeth upon the trees and walketh upon the earth... all things which of the earth, in the season thereof, are made for the benefit and the use of man, both to please the eye and to gladden the heart."

When the world was worried that there wouldn't be enough on the land to give to all the new population, the prophet's were putting an emphasis on keeping the sabbath day holy. When we keep the sabbath day holy, it seems like God will provide. He created the earth that we have. He rested. He wants us to rest on the 7th day to more fully obtain what He's created for us. 

Just as this article about China was published in April 2006, President Hinkley (President of the Church of Jesus Christ of latter-day Saints) delivered a talk in November of 2006 titled "Keeping the Sabbath."

Hannah Whiting 

Brigham Young University Idaho

For more quotes on having kids and the prophet's and apostles views, read below! I also included cool video clip about statistics on family in the home. 

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References

Hinkley, G. B. (2006). Keeping the sabbath. The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. https://www.churchofjesuschrist.org/media/video/2012-06-1400-keeping-the-sabbath?lang=eng.

Potts, M., Bixby, F. H. (2006). China's one child policy: the policy that changed the world. School of Public Health, University of California, Berkeley, CA 94720-7360, USA.

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Other resources and quotes:

The Family and Sustainable Development

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gp2lfmb6rlY 

“There are multitudes of pure and holy spirits waiting to take tabernacles, now what is our duty?—To prepare tabernacles for them; to take a course that will not tend to drive those spirits into the families of the wicked, where they will be trained in wickedness, debauchery, and every species of crime. It is the duty of every righteous man and woman to prepare tabernacles for all the spirits they can.” 

-President Brigham Young

"You did not come on earth just to 'eat, drink and be merry.' You came knowing full well your responsibilities. You came to get for yourself a mortal body that could become perfected, immortalized, and you understood that you were to act in partnership with God in providing bodies for other spirits equally anxious to come to the earth for righteous purposes. And so you will not postpone parenthood. There will be rationalists who will name to you numerous reasons for postponement. Of course, it will be harder to get your college degrees or your financial start with a family, but strength like yours will be undaunted in the face of difficult obstacles.

Have your family as the Lord intended. Of course it is expensive, but you will find a way, and besides, it is often those children who grow up with responsibility and hardships who carry on the world’s work. And, John and Mary, do not limit your family as the world does. I am wondering now where I might have been had my parents decided arbitrarily that one or two children would be enough, or that three or four would be all they could support, or that even five would be the limit; for I was the sixth of eleven children. Don’t think you will love the later ones less or have few material things for them. Perhaps like Jacob, you might love the eleventh one most. Young people, have your family, love them, sacrifice for them, teach them righteousness, and you will be blessed and happy all the days of your eternal lives.“ 

-President Spencer W. Kimball 

A link to other blogs on similar topics: 

https://familymissiontime.blogspot.com/p/classmates-blogs.html