More Subjects
Pros And Cons Of The One Child Policy In China
Student Name
Instructor
Course Name
Date
Pros and Cons of One Child Policy in China
China’s one child policy was introduced in 1979 to regulate the rate of population growth, but was scrapped as an official law in 2015. The law forced individuals to follow specific guidelines that may not be suitable to personal wishes and plans of parents. Besides, the rule preferred boys over girls for the purposes of inheritance. Consequently, China saw an upsurge in the number of abortions whenever unintended pregnancies occurred. This article aims to discuss the merits and demerits of the policy in the context of China.
Pros
One advantage of the policy is that it changed the perception of the girl child in the Chinese society since girls born to families as the only children got access to education, which greatly improved the quality of their lives. Secondly, parents with one child find it easier to provide for their child and accord them quality life since they can afford quality education, housing, and other recreational activities. Thirdly, the one child policy saw an increase in job opportunities in China for children born after 1979 since there was no competition for available employment slots, which helped to reduce poverty and improve the overall quality of life. Lastly, the Chinese government rewarded compliant families with benefits such as land allowances, free water for agriculture, and quality healthcare services (Settles, et al.). Therefore, families and children stood a chance to benefit from the law if they complied with an increased probability of improving the quality of their lives.
Cons
The first demerit of the one child policy is that there is less evidence to support the efficacy of the policy, despite the claim by the Chinese government that the policy regulate population growth by 400 million births. In addition, the policy resulted in a disparity in the number of boys and girls born that explains why today the male population is 30 million more than that of females in China. Furthermore, the policy resulted in a care burden for elderly parents, which increased the levels of dependency in the country and reduced the quality of life for these families (Huang). Therefore, the policy certainly brought unintended consequences that were unforeseen during the adoption of the policy.
In conclusion, the implementation of the one child policy in China came with both positive and negative impacts on the Chinese society. The benefits included improved perception and roles of girls in the society, improved chances of employment, and better living standards for families. Nonetheless, the downside of the policy included disparity in the number of boys and girls born, and an increased burned of care for elderly parents among other disadvantages. Therefore, such policies are evidence no government should forcefully plan for the future of its citizen’s families without consent.
Works Cited
Huang, Wei. "How does the one child policy impact social and economic outcomes?" IZA World of Labor, 2017, wol.iza.org/uploads/articles/387/pdfs/how-does-the-one-child-policy-impact-social-and-economic-outcomes.pdf.
Settles, Barbara H., et al. "The One-Child Policy and Its Impact on Chinese Families." International Handbook of Chinese Families, 2012, pp. 627-646, www.researchgate.net/publication/228697017_The_One-Child_Policy_and_Its_Impact_on_Chinese_Families.
More Subjects
Join our mailing list
© All Rights Reserved 2024