Especially in the modern era, the explosion of the human population has made many governments and experts anxious about their ability to control and feed the growing population. Numerous attempts have been to limit population growth, or to encourage certain people to have more children.
One of the earliest theorists in the West to discuss the population was Thomas Malthus. Thomas Malthus lived in the 1700s and wrote the highly influential 1798 book, An Essay in the Principle of Population. He believed that "The power of population is indefinitely greater than the power in the earth to produce subsistence for man" – in other words, it was going to be impossible to provide enough food for the whole population. When this happened, people lower on the socio-economic spectrum would suffer deprivation and starvation. Malthus encouraged “preventative checks,” such as later marriages, as methods of lowering the birth rate. He also encouraged governments to pass laws that ensured the health and safety of the poor during economic downturns.
Though Malthus was relatively progressive in his arguments, his central ideas around population planning were translated into problematic policies. For example, institutions such as prisons, hospitals, and courts in the United States have forcibly sterilized “undesirable” people, such as prisoners, mentally handicapped people, and racial/ethnic minorities, in order to control the population.
Perhaps the most famous and large-scale example of limiting the birth rate occurred in China. Starting in 1979, parents in China were only allowed to have one child. This policy was intended to limit the already very large population of China after a series of famines in the 20th century, and it was implemented by the country’s totalitarian government. Families faced fines and denial of social services for violating the law. China’s one-child policy led to a wide variety of abuses and problems. Women were especially affected, as they were forced to undergo abortions or submit to intrusive birth control techniques. Chinese children also have the difficulty of caring for their parents and grandparents without the help of siblings. There is some evidence that due to the strong cultural preference for male children, baby girls were abandoned or given away for adoption.
In 2016, China relaxed its one-child policy, primarily because of the rising number of elderly people. It remains to be seen what sort of effect this choice will have.
