Morality of Population Control of Bangladesh

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Morality of Population Control of Bangladesh

ABSTRACT: The rapid rate of population growth in the last half of the present century causes anxiety about the future of humanity because the amount of resources needed to satisfy basic necessities is extremely large. Correspondingly, the satisfaction of basic needs cannot be the sole criterion of the good life. Human beings have a right to live a life composed of things that make life go best. The case of Bangladesh shows that the majority of people live a life barely worth living, a life morally undesirable. One major reason is the rapid increase in population. Bangladesh covers an area slightly less than that of the state of Illinois, but has a population that is roughly half of the total population of the United States. The quality of life is inexorably linked to population growth. Further, human welfare and the quality of life are closely linked to the availability of resources. Rapid increases in population growth reduces resource availability and often degrades the environment. At some point, regulation is needed to limit population growth in Bangladesh in order to maximize opportunities for living worthwhile lives both by present as well as future generations. I develop a moral viewpoint that justifies population control in Bangladesh.

Bangladesh is one of the least developed countries of the world. Rapid increase of population causes government to declare it as the number one problem and major impediment to economic development and progress. With an area of 1,47,570 sq km — a size little less than that of the state of Illinois, USA the country’s population has almost tripled to the present 125 million from the 1951 figure. In education, health and housing sectors, the ...

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...tab, F.U. and Karim, Z, "Population and Agricultural Land Use: Towards a Sustainable Food Production System in Bangladesh" in Ambio Vol 21, No. 1, Feb 1990, p-50.

(9) These rights are stated in the unofficial document of the Untied Nations Preparatory Committee for the International Conference on Population and Development, pp:11-12.

(10) Cf. Hartmann, B, Reproductive Rights and Wrongs: The Global Policies of Population Control and Contraceptive Choice, Harper and Row; New York, 1987.

(11) Parfit, D, "On Doing the Best for Our Children", in Ethics and Population ed. Bayles, M.D., Schenkman Publishing Co. Inc., Cambridge, Mass, 1976; pp:100-115.

(12) Vide. Kavka, G.S., "The Paradox of Future Individuals", in Philosophy and Public Affairs, Vol 11, No-2., 1981; pp-93-113.

(13) Parfit, "Overpopulation", pp-145-164.

(14) Parfit, "Overpopulation", p:146.

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