Exploration Pack 2: One Child Policy
Working through the material this week I realized just how wrong I was in the past when I thought about the one-child policy in China. I was very incorrectly under the impression that it was a somewhat logical solution to an ever-increasing problem of overpopulation and a lack of resources for said population. I was aware of the preference for males over females and the mounting problems that were having on Chinese society, I was also aware of the exceptions and fines that were within the policy all of these seemed to make sense, but when reading the material and watching the short documentary I realized how naive I was. I failed to consider the ramifications of the male preferential society as well as consider the tactics that would go into enforcing the one-child rule on those that could not pay a fine for more than one child, the whole ethicality of the program just seems wrong and almost harks back the eugenics programs in the US in the early 20th century.
I’m not sure why I was under the impression that the one-child policy was something that was not perfect but not too bad for the population of China, I’m not sure whether it stems from what I was told by those I knew who grew up in China or if it was from the news. But the reality that I have embarrassingly just become aware of is frankly disgusting tactics. Watching the short film and seeing the first-hand accounts of those living through the one-child policy and the discrepancies it creates was kind of shocking, with the couple in the countryside being completely decimated in their punishment for having a second child and having another child taken away from them seemed barbaric. While the couple in the city their only stipulation was whether or not they had time to have another child, money would or resources would not be a problem for them. Also, the psychological effects on children were not something I had even considered, I’m from a family of 5 kids so there was never a lack of stimulation or someone to hang out with so being lonely as a kid was something I never really recognized. It’s good that the one-child policy was lifted fairly recently, but how many years of irreversible damage were done, and when will the repercussions be felt, if ever?
Bibliography:
“The One Child Policy” In The Search for Modern China: A Documentary Collection. Third ed. Edited by Janet Chen et. al. W. W. Norton & Company, 2014.
“China: One Child Policy”. Australian Broadcasting Corporation. Anonymous Filmakers Library, 2006. https://video-alexanderstreet-com.muhlenberg.idm.oclc.org/watch/china-one-child-policy.
