China's one-Child Policy

Abstract

In 1949 Mao Zedong's Communist Party won control of China. During that time they condemned any form of birth control. However by 1960 the use of birth controls and abortions were readily accepted. When the increasing population problem occurred Mao implemented the One-Child Policy of China. Most families followed the policy but that was not very effective so by 1980 the One-Child Policy became mandatory and in 2001 it became a part of the national law.

In this essay we are going to tackle this unique policy, which has been one of the largest and most dramatic population-control campaigns in the world, receiving both praise and sharp evaluation over thirty years from different disciplines such as sociology, history, economy- politics, and art-literature. Also will talk about environment through demographic input and will try to illustrate the past, today and the future of this unpopular policy.

Phenomenon

The phenomenon focuses on the policy, which is dictating every urban Chinese family to have only one child since 1979. This policy was introduced to alleviate economic, demographic and environmental problems in China, with the justification of being overpopulated. Transgression of the policy is to be fined based on family income and other social factors. Many institutions and Family Planning Commissions exist at several levels of government to raise awareness about the issue and to carry out inspections and registration work. The policy is said to have many negative effects especially in social and economic areas, however, over 76% of China's population is said to support the policy. 1

Starting on 2009−30th anniversary of the policy−Chinese government contemplates the future of the policy however, until today, nothing has changed yet. Yet, the rules concerning the policy are not very strict any longer. Often people transgress the rules of the policy, but the government doesn't take an action against.

Set up

With overpopulation near, the Chinese government continues to enforce the one-child policy for more than three decades now. We would like to investigate the consequences of this policy in terms of different disciplines in the domain of social sciences, humanities and economy.

In order to do that, first we will discuss the sociological aspects. Secondly, we will discuss the cultural context and consequences as well as the impacts on Chinese art and literature. Thirdly, we will discuss the impact the one-child policy had on China's economy. We will then conclude how these different aspects interact, followed by our conclusion on this strange, yet intriguing subject.

1 "The Chinese Celebrate Their Roaring Economy, As They Struggle With Its Costs" 2008-07-22. Retrieved 2009-07-31.