China has, for many years, had a "one child" policy to deal with their "problem" of overpopulation. And American scholar, on Chinese soil, has called them for this policy. George Weigel (one of my favorite Catholic theologians) has written about Dr. Nick Eberstadt (a "convinced Maoist" in a former life) in a recent article available at the Catholic Education Resource Center.
In 20 years, on current trends, the "normal" Chinese family will be "4-2-1:" four grandparents, two parents, one grandchild." "Brother," "sister," "aunt," "uncle" and "cousin" will be abstract terms. What will this do to a society in which family bonds are a crucial component of social capital?
And what about the demographic ramifications of sex-selection abortions under the One-Child Policy? That odious practice has created a situation in which, 20 years out, there will be tens of millions of unmarried Chinese young men with no marriage prospects — because the wives they might have married were aborted. That's a vast human and social problem. It's also a huge international security problem, for that many unmarriageable young men means, historically, an army of marauders.
Echoing Pope John Paul II in the encyclical Centesimus Annus, Nick Eberstadt closed on a humanistic note: "In the final analysis, the wealth of nations in the modern world is not to be found in mines, or forests, or deposits of natural resources. The true wealth of modern countries resides in their people — in human resources. China's people are not a curse — they are a blessing." Thus China's success in "abolishing poverty and attaining mass affluence in the decades and generations ahead" may well depend on a decision by China's rulers to reverse course and to trust their own people, with respect to the size of their families.
Nick Eberstadt reports that his reception was "cool." Which is bad news, not for Dr. Eberstadt, but for China.
2 comments:
This problem is not limited to China.
Mark Steyn's outstanding book "America Alone" explains the similar demographic decline of Europe.
Check out the drop in babies with Down's Syndrome and other undesirable traits that can now be detected prior to birth. Abortion on demand is bringing de facto eugenics here in America.
Although with the number of highly vocal feminazis we have, our society may become predominantly female in a few decades. Big draw for the Chinese!
And although that last was written in jest I wonder how true it might become.
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