Pros of Population Control
The primary advantage of population control is the increase of economic stability. With the economic stability, the living conditions of the populace also improve, which is another advantage (Allison, 2013). To demonstrate these two pros, it is important to examine China. China used population control to improve the living standards of the citizens. One way that the country used the system was through contraceptives, added to other methods. Thus, the other advantage of the same is the rise in the living standards. In addition to that, there is also better access to resources such as medical coverage, natural gas, and tap water.
Use your promo and get a custom paper on
"Agricultural Ethics".
Furthermore, life expectancy rate doubled, and infant mortality rate lowered. All the benefits point out that population control mechanism is beneficial to society. To consider this concept, one must first realize that the global population growth rate is 80 million annually. Therefore, with the mechanism of controlling it, the global community will have better access to resources and better living standards than before. In this school of thought, population control will lead to less overcrowding than the present, eliminating the stresses on food supply in the process. Moreover, it will reduce pollution and diseases.
Cons of Population Control
There are several disadvantages of population control. The first one is the lack of success that most nations that attempt it have. For example, when the government attempts it, there is rejection from the populace. That is evident in China as many citizens refused to cooperate on the matter. Another con is the decline of economic activity as a result of the absence of manpower. In this school of thought, most nations that implement this strategy reduce their innovative and creative capabilities (Tabbarah, 2011). The reason is, without a diverse populace, there are no new ideas that may arise. For that reason, the country or society may stagnate on the same ideas and technology without moving forward. Furthermore, population control leads to a decline in economic activities because, in the absence of a reliable populace, the consumption of goods and services reduces. That contracts the market and leads to less production that ultimately affects the economy of a country in a negative way.
Synthesis of a Solution
The writer of the reading states that they are against the opinion of Garret Hardin, who supports population control as a measure to improve communities. While Hardin is racist and has views that border on outright insensitivity, it is imperative to look at his view in another way. Clearly, Hardin supports the supremacy of Europeans, undermining other racial groups in the process. Nonetheless, aside from that, he supports population control because of the benefits that it has. From the analysis of the analysis of the pros and cons above, it is evident that population control is more beneficial than it is disadvantageous. With fewer people in the world as there are currently, there will be access to resources, and it will eliminate overcrowding. Moreover, economic stability will be better than it is currently. In the same breath, living standards will improve (Hartmann, 2014). Thus, approaching this concept in another way reveals that Hardin is not pointless.
However, in the implementation process, the population control mechanism should be general and not have a cynosure on a specific race or community. Each society is important, and there is none that is superior to the other. In that case, unlike Hardin’s opinion, the universality o population control should be put into consideration. With that in mind, population control will benefit the global community with each society having better living standards, economic stability, and access to resources than currently.
- Allison,’A.’C. (2013).’Population control. Harmondsworth, Eng.: Penguin Books.
- Hartmann,’B. (2014).’Reproductive rights and wrongs: The global politics of population control and contraceptive choice. New York: Harper & Row.
- Tabbarah,’R.’B. (2011). Birth control and population policy.’Population Studies,’18(2), 187-196. doi:10.1080/00324728.1964.10405520
