List of Pros and Cons of China One Child Policy

For more than three decades, China has had the one child policy. Some people think that it is one of the greatest policies that government has ever implemented while others think it is inhumane and inappropriate for the government to dictate such a thing. Understanding the pros and cons can help to establish your own stance. There are plenty of reasons for and against of the policy, and research has been done on both sides in order to support each of the comments made by the people for and against the policy.

List of Pros of China One Child Policy

There are a variety of pros for the one child policy that is present in China. The policy was implemented in 1980 using an open letter provided by the Chinese Communist Party. The government has since campaigned nationally and locally to utilize voluntary birth control and has discouraged excess reproduction. Those who had more than one child would be fined, though there were exceptions and some families were allowed to have a second child only if the first one resulted in a girl being born.

1. Population is Under Control
The population of China has become managed as a result of the one child policy. 50 years ago, China was the most populous country in the world, and while it still is, the population has not grown as considerably as it would have if the policy was not in place.

Throughout the 1960s and 1970s, there was a significant population increase all around the world. However, it was more prevalent in China because of the large population to begin with. The population growth has been contained, and there are a number of healthy citizens. China has prevented 400 million births within the past three decades, which is larger than the population of the United States and that is a considerable number to look at when determining if the population control has been a success.

2. Manpower is Unaffected
Manpower has been unaffected by the one child policy, which is an important pro to take into consideration. China is the manufacturing hub of the world, and many feared that the one child policy would affect the development and industrialization, which it has not. There are still enough working individuals across the country to manufacture and industrialize as needed so that China remains the go to country for manufacturing. This is likely a title that China is going to hold for decades to come because they have not shown any signs of meeting to slow down in their production. The slightly smaller population in terms of growth also ensures that there are plenty of positions within the manufacturing industry so that everyone within the country can be employed. If there were more people, it may result in a higher unemployment rate.

3. Economy is Under Control
The economy is stable in China as a result of the one child policy as well. A growth within the population would have made the country poor. There would have been more expenses in welfare and support schemes, and have a negative impact on the environment as well. As a result of controlling the population, companies were able to continue offering jobs to families and improve the livelihood of everyone across the country. If there were more people within the population, the government would likely be providing assistance programs to many families, and this would cause the economy to shift considerably in comparison to where it is at today.

4. Quality of Life is Appropriate
The quality of life is appropriate, and, for the most part, no one is suffering. The one child policy makes it possible to offer a high level of healthcare and education to everyone. If the hospitals and the schools were being overcrowded by a large population, it would make it nearly impossible for the quality of life to be where it is today. Society as a whole has fared better because of the one child policy in place. While not everyone agrees with the policy, very few people will talk ill about the quality of life provided across China, especially when compared to the quality of life of other countries in surrounding areas. For the most part, the people of China live very well.

List of Cons of China One Child Policy

Many people are against the one child policy of China. Many people say that it is against the will of God, and it is an abuse of human rights. There is a long list of cons, just as there is a long list of pros. These need to be weighed back and forth in order to determine whether the policy is truly something that needs to go away or whether it should continue for decades to come.

1. The Population is Still Expanding
The goal of the one child policy was to get the population under control. According to many critics, the policy has failed miserably. The country still has more than 13 billion people inside of it. In the last three decades since the policy was implemented, there have been over 12 million people born – and that is the population of Greece. This cannot be a measure of success for the policy. An experiment was run secretly in one county of China were to trial policy was put into place. After 25 years, the 2010 study found that the growth within the population was less in the county than the rest of the country, and the gender ratio was in a better place. This secret experiment has proven that the one child policy is not necessarily what has controlled the boom in population.

2. Unhealthy Ratio of Males to Females
There is an alarming problem with the male to female ratio within the country. There are approximately 50,000,000 more males than there are females. This is not natural, and is absolutely detrimental to the society as a whole. The natural ratio around the world is approximately 106 males for every 100 females. This demonstrates that there is a very unhealthy ratio taking place within China. Millions of men will never find a girlfriend or wife, which can lead to depression. They have no chance of having one with this ratio, which can stunt the population decades from now as well. The full repercussions have not begun to show.

3. Aging Population is Unaccounted For
The aging population has yet to be accounted for in terms of how it is going to impact society and the economy. There is an aging population throughout China, which is eventually going to take the advantage away from China for being the most populous. Additionally, there are more elderly people, which is going to cause a significant rise in healthcare costs as well as a decrease in the available manpower. This is going to have a dramatic impact on the economy, and not a positive one. As more people leave the workforce, there are not enough new people entering the workforce, and it could result in problems with the manufacturing industry. There may not be enough people to run the factories and push industrialization forward across the country. This can cause a huge ripple effect across the rest of the world as so many other countries depend upon China for manufacturing their goods.

4. Life Becomes Difficult for Kids
In Chinese culture, the parents will eventually come to live with the children. When there is only one child for each set of parents, it becomes a burden on this child. If there are surviving parents of a child that is married, he must support himself, his wife, his parents, as well as his wife’s parents. This is a considerable financial burden, particularly if the wife does not work. As long as the one child policy continues, this is going to be a financial problem for children as they get older and their parents come to live with them. If there were multiple children born, the burden could be spread between the children as opposed to falling squarely on the shoulders of a single child.