“The power of population is so superior to the power of Earth to produce subsistence for man, that premature death must in some shape or other visit the human race.” That’s a quote from an 18th-century philosopher named Thomas Malthus that I think greatly reflects problems that we are facing today. In 1979, China introduced it’s one child policy, and many considered it a disaster. With inhumane tactics such as forced abortions and the unstable economy it brought with it due to a disproportionate boy to girl ratio and more people leaving the workforce than entering the workforce, I would agree. Although, the human race is speeding towards the world’s maximum population capacity of ten billion and I think we, in the future, will have to overlook the negatives of a one child policy and enforce something a lot like it internationally. While this may seem controversial, when it comes to the fate of the human race, an economic collapse sounds like a minor negative to me. A one child policy may be necessary due to overpopulation, environmental concerns, underdeveloped countries, and the limited options we have.

First, the threat of overpopulation. The population around the world was 1 billion in 1800. The population in 2019 is estimated to be around 7.7 billion. The world’s maximum capacity is estimated to be 9-10 billion people. Harvard University sociobiologist Edward O. Wilson pointed out in his book “The Future of Life” that those estimates are based off the amount of Earth’s available resources. These issues are serious, and sure, one can try to educate the youth about overpopulation and offer them ways to control births by using contraception and other tactics, but that only does so much. If we’re serious about stopping overpopulation, we have to consider a one child policy. According to an article titled “Experts challenge China’s 1-child population claim” by Alexa Oleson from October 27, 2011 on Boston Globe’s website, the Chinese government claimed that 400 million births were prevented with the one child policy, although realistically only about 200 million were truly prevented by the rule. Nevertheless, I think these are still immense numbers and when it comes to slowing down birth rates, a one child policy works. Overpopulation is a serious threat, and a one child policy, as troublesome as it may seem, may come to be our only hope. You may be questioning, what really is so threatening about overpopulation? The answer to that is the disastrous effects it has on our environment.

Another concern is the effect overpopulation has on the environment. Humans have destroyed the environment. It was necessary for us to live, yes, but we still destroyed it. Climate change is a serious issue, and according to an April 1, 2019 article by Durwood J. Zaelke on the Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists’ website titled “How to save the Arctic’s moderate role on global warming”, the Arctic is warming at two times the average rate, which could cause solar radiation and carbon dioxide & methane releasing which causes the earth to heat up even more. Humans have caused this and it’s becoming too late to resolve it. Not only climate change, but the earth is running out of fossil fuels. According to an article titled “How long before we run out of fossil fuels?” by Hannah Ritchie from August 8, 2017 on the website for an organization called Our World in Data, our coal reserves our expected to run out in 114 years, natural gas in 52.8, and oil in 50.7. These environmental concerns all stem from overpopulation, which can be stopped by a one child policy. Where overpopulation is the worst though, is in undeveloped countries.

Countries stricken by poverty are especially apt to be affected by overpopulation and therefore one child policies are necessary there as well. Birth rates in Niger are almost seven children per woman, in Angola 6.16 children per woman, and in Mali 6.01. These are all undeveloped countries in sub-Saharan Africa. An article titled “Overpopulation is an existential threat to humanity” by Joel Levine on the the website Newsday from October 29, 2018 states that sub-Saharan Africa has potential to have an economic collapse in upcoming years due to many sub-Saharans ditching farming activities and choosing to live elsewhere. It’s also speculated that these places could have famines strike due to drought and other population factors. Not everyone here has access to contraception and an education about the detrimental effects of overpopulation, so a one child policy is something to ponder. Although, well developed countries like the US aren’t quite out of the clear. According to the same Newsday article I referenced earlier, countries such as the United States, Canada, Germany, and the Netherlands produce way too much carbon dioxide. If we reduced the population of the US and Canada by 1 it would have the same amount of greenhouse gas reduction as lowering the population of Nigeria by 11. These countries need something to slow down the overpopulation, and there aren’t many options aside from a one child policy.

When it comes to slowing down overpopulation, there are limited options. While there are multiple ones, I’m trying to prove that a one child policy is the best one. One of the best alternatives is family planning. Key methods for this include contraception and sterilization. Contraception requires taking a birth control pill, to prevent unplanned pregnancies. While this is effective, it only does so much. There are still many unplanned pregnancies each year. In fact, according to an article titled “Why are 50 Percent of Pregnancies in the U.S. Unplanned?” by Adrienne D. Bonham from October 21, 2013 on The Shriver Report website, around fifty percent of pregnancies in the United States are actually unplanned. That’s because not everyone is under birth control pills. All these alternative methods are very flawed, but as far as stopping overpopulation goes, a one child policy is a sure bet.

In conclusion, a one child policy may sound like a controversial rule, but if we’re serious about solving issues such as overpopulation, environmental concerns, and underdeveloped countries, there are very limited options besides setting a limit to one child per family. If we don’t look past the negatives of a policy like this, the fate of humanity could be in danger. While not all of Thomas Malthus’ speculations were correct, the quote I included in the first paragraph still holds up very well. I hope I helped you ponder a one child policy as something that could be helpful despite it being an extremely disliked rule in China by outsiders.