The potential in every human being is limitless. By suggesting that there are “too many” people in China, the government’s policy causes immeasurable psychological damage that far exceeds anything central planners can hope to gain by limiting the numbers of people they must provide for. In fact, the very notion that it is up to the government to provide for the people is itself flawed. Each individual and their network of relationships has the power to achieve far more than any government planner has ever given them credit for. Nothing could be more damaging to society than the failure to realize that illimitable value that exists within us all. On its own, the forced abortion of but one person who if given the chance of life could have generated a revolutionary, paradigm shifting idea would be enough to cancel all the hoped for benefits of the One Child Policy. Add to this the sweeping effects of a billion people adopting the pessimistic belief that more people are somehow “bad” and Chinese society can be assured that its individuals will not live up to their full potential.
While few individuals ever feel their lives to be a burden on the world, if through years of inculcation in government planning programs I gradually adopt the belief that additional people are but a drag on society, I have internalized the notion that I myself may be just another dead weight. This poisonous notion subconsciously adopted by more than a billion people is one of the most tragic events of the last few decades, stifling their resourcefulness and creativity while preventing untold millions from reaching their true potential. Moreover, by using command-and-control measures to impose population restraints from above, the government allows individuals to avoid personal responsibility for the problems generated by population. Paternalistic government policies that treat individuals as though they were mere children without the ability to make decisions about what is best for them and their family necessarily stifles resourcefulness. Treat people like children, and they may act like children.
Excessive” population presents a problem only to the state planner charged with the nearly impossible task of providing for more than a billion people. To stand any chance at succeeding in this role, he takes the easy route and decides that he must lower the denominator in the ratio of resources-to-people. Yet population control is but a means to an end, not a true end in itself. The ultimate goal of this and any other state policy is to ensure that each individual has the resources needed to succeed. However, the one-child policy ignores the fact that the application of human resourcefulness can multiply many times over the utility we receive from a given quantity of resources. Give the people the power to plan what is best for themselves and arm them with the belief in their unlimited creative potential, and no limits on resources shall ever present themselves again.
Labels: china, population
