The Unethical One Child Policy in China

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In 1980, a new regime of Chinese leaders believed that in order to sustain an economic prosperous nation, it was imperative that population be heavily controlled. And thus, the now infamous One-Child Policy was created, one that would impact the most intimate aspect of every Chinese citizen's life - their family. Over the past three decades this policy has been strictly and severely enforced whereas China’s coercive tactics have unfortunately left in its wake a multitude of negative externalities, including; the denial of one of an individual’s most very basic human rights, an increasingly high display of sex discrimination, and disturbingly massive numbers of forced abortions,. This ethical issue stimulates a multitude of philosophical angles as discussed in, The Problem of Coerced Abortion in China and Related Ethical Issues by Jing-Bao Nie; which contrasts Eastern and Western cultural traditions view on this Policy. The destructive aftermath of the 33 year-old One-Child Policy has caused many people around the globe, philosophers, and even myself to firmly believe this Policy is an entirely unethical form of population control. The concept behind implementing the policy is clear; when overpopulation occurs in a nation without the financial/natural resources available to sustain expansive growth rates, the result is an increase in the general poverty of all people across the nation. Thus, the One-Child Policy is a measure which was intended to benefit the greater good, a utilitarian approach to increase the livelihood of the nation. In Eastern tradition and seen here in Communist China, the individualists rights and desires are sacrificed for the greater good. As discussed in Jing-Bao Nie’s article, Marxist philosophy... ... middle of paper ... ...egious human rights violation in recent history, and I believe quite rightly so. The Policy has created overwhelming issues which touch upon the very core of what it is to be human and the evolution of basic individualist rights. Consider the many couples who might dearly desire more than one child, yet are duty-bound to forsake the children they wish to welcome into their family - if only they had the choice. For those parents, economic growth and national prosperity are poor substitutes and serve as a inadequate rationale for their hearts’ deeper longing of components that truly matter in life. Regardless of Easter versus Western cultural traditions or opposing philosophical views, no law should cause a society’s intrinsic moral compass to dissolve until its citizens are left with a hollow emotionless version of what humanity should entail in the eyes of a family.

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