Assess the view that China's One Child Policy brings more benefits than harms to the

country.
Facing the problem of overpopulation and the shortages of food and resources caused by
the failure of Mao Ze Dong's Great Leap Forward and his birth campaigns, Deng Xiao
Ping introduced the One Child Policy in 1980 in tandem with his economic reforms to
slow down China's population growth rate so that the burden on China's economy could
be mitigated. Although the policy has brought about immediate benefits to China, there
are far-reaching harms and implications to the policy and its ramifications can still be
seen in China even today. This essay seeks to study the extent of positive and negative
impacts the One Child Policy has on the Chinese society. Whether One Child Policy brings
more benefits to China or not cannot be judged solely by the quantity of harm and benefit
it brings; the presence of Nett benefit has to be taken into account. Even though the
policy opens China to much harm that affects the country socially, politically and
economically, both in the short term and the long term, the benefits that it brings override
and supersede these harms by and large.
The One Child Policy is sine qua non in reducing the socio-economic burdens of the
citizens and the state. The One Child Policy reduces the overpopulation problem of China
so that more resources could be channeled into economic developments for the country.
More of the country's resources could be used for investments in multi-national
corporations and small and medium enterprises which will create more jobs, encourage
entrepreneurship and attract more foreign investments. Profits rake in from these
investments could be used to improve healthcare, public facilities and infrastructures for
the masses. A smaller population also alleviates the problem of famine and
unemployment rate which in turn reduce crime rates. Since the implementation of One
Child Policy, the per capita income has increased fourfold for each Chinese citizen.
Excess resources derived from the One Child Policy are essential for China to achieve
better living standards. Having only to provide for one child, the saving rate of the nation
has also increased. This provides the economy with the much needed boost during global
fmancial downturns as people now have more to spend, making the economy less
susceptible to recessions. A more stabilized economy as a result of One Child Policy,
together with its substantial market size, makes China a suitable investment hub
especially for manufacturing-related industries due to the surfeit of economies of scales
that are available. The infiltration of global luxury brands like Gucci, Prada and Apple is
a testimony of this. The policy also lightens public administrative costs. More of the
country's budget can now be reallocated to enhance China's underdeveloped social
infrastructures, making the standard of living in China higher.
In addition, One Child Policy also liberates women from their demanding traditional role
as a child-bearing machine. Women now gain greater socio-economic independence and
make more contributions to the country. Since each couple is only allowed to have one
child at most, with a few exceptions, much attention has been refocused on career
development and money-making. The duty of taking care of the child and raising the
child has been largely left to grandparents, nannies, housekeepers or childcare centers.

Being better educated and financially independent, gender disparity within household has
also ameliorated and females are beginning to see themselves as equals of men. After
giving birth to their first child, women are generally free to pursue their career and this is
instrumental in levitating the status of woman in China.
However, drastic implementation of the policy results in a rapidly ageing population
which is detrimental to China's economic development. Since its implementation,
China's average birthrate has dropped by 4.3 to 1.5, which is much lower than the
replacement rate of 2.1 By estimation, after 2030, China's population would grey at an
unprecedented rate even before the country's economy can reach the corresponding
developed status. This will cause China to lose its competitive edge in low-cost labour
while state expenditure would have to increase to take care of aged folks. This is
extremely deleterious for China's economy because manufacturing and mining sectors
have always been the twin pillar fuelling China economic growth. These industries
require large amount of man power which would be undermined by an ageing
population. Moreover, this overburdens the working class as the rapidly rising cost of
living is highly likely to disable the elderly from supporting themselves. By 2030, the
proportion of working class supporting the elderly is estimated to be 2: 1
The policy also contributes to gender disproportionality which upsets China's social
stability. The traditional preference for male offspring in rural areas leads to the birth of
more males than females by many Chinese couples. If they are unable to achieve this by
natural birth, some might resort to having additional children illegally or through
abandonment, abortion or infanticide where innocent female fetuses are cruelly ridden of.
Today, the proportion of male against female in China is almost 1:1.2. This is a worrying
trend because millions of young men in China would be left without any family
prospects. Shortage of girls also results in human trafficking and female abductions to be
sold in rural areas as brides. Moreover, the reduction in the number of females in China
exacerbates the problem of declining birth rates because it means that there will be fewer
mothers in the future.
The "little emperor syndrome" which is a byproduct of One Child Policy is an injurious
social problem for China today. Having no siblings, children of One Child Policy have
little opportunities to learn to interact or share within the family. They are often overly
doted or spoilt and this causes them to become more dependant and reliant on their
parents even after reaching adulthood. This could affect China's economic
competitiveness in the future as many from the younger generations lack the fortitude
and perseverance of their predecessors. As such, it defeats the government's purpose
of "raising less to increase quality". Being the only child, they are also often pressurized
to do well by their parent's expectation. A survey conducted shows that among 20000
high school students in Beijing, 28% are emotionally disturbed, suffering from
depressions or thoughts of hostility. Unhealthy competition as a result of this may breed
a generation of self-centered and pragmatic youths that only care about themselves.
Moreover, discriminatory practices of the One Child Policy lead to socio-political
dissents. Since the penalty for bearing additional children is only the payment of fmes or

"social compensation fees", the powerful and the rich in China are often able to
evade the policy either by paying the fines directly, through guanxi, or by abusing
their authorities. Also because of this, having more than one child has become a
symbol of privileged status. This worsens the problem of materialism in China and
encourages people to bypass the law. Numerous officials and successful
businessmen have remarried just to bear more than one child. This emasculates the
status of women in China as it reduces them to slightly more than a mean to
procreation. As a result of harsher punishments in the inland provinces, the better
educated middle class have also took to the streets to protest against the unfair
practices of the One Child Policy as it seems to propose that having more than one
child is a privilege that could only be enjoyed by the well-to-do. Built on the other
unhappiness the people already have of the government, such socio political dissents
are likely to unsettle the political stability of the country in the long run.
Inefficiencies and loopholes within the policy discredit the government before the
general public. The One Child Policy is implemented differently across provinces and
various communities amongst the populace. These inconsistencies are often perceived
by the people as arbitrary and unreasoned. As a result of the draconian punishments
practiced in some parts of the inland provinces, many Chinese couples have moved to
coastal cities to have more than one child where paying a fine or bribe would somewhat
resolve the issue. Worsened by corruption and the weak rule of law in place, such
circumvention of the law is rampant. Due to rapid urbanization and the dissolution of
state enterprises, the Population Bureau of China has long been unable to provide
reliable data on the country's birthrate. As such, the inability of the government to
enforce the policy effectively, coupled with the inherent weaknesses of the policy,
renders it as non-viable and impractical in the eyes of the people. Holding on to such
a policy makes the government appear to be inflexible and inadequate.
Challenges from the increasingly affluent and better informed middle class who disagree
with the government's rationale for One Child Policy breed further political distrust and
discontent. After understanding the undesirable aspects of the One Child Policy, many
Chinese are criticizing the government for their intransigence. Even the Vice-Minister of
National Population and Family Planning Commission in 2008, thought that the One
Child Policy might have outlived its usefulness and is no longer relevant to China today.
Furthermore, natural disasters like the 2008 Sichuan Earthquake which wiped out almost
an entire generation of youth raise doubts regarding the viability of the policy. With
effect from the influx of foreign values, the middle class feels that procreation is a
personal choice and it should not be subjected to any state mandate.
It can therefore be seen that despite the long term repercussions One Child Policy
brings, it continues to benefit the Chinese economy in immense ways even today. All
in all, as long the One Child Policy continues to serve its purpose of curbing the
oversize population of China and support economic growth, the harms would be by
and large offset and there would be more benefits than harms to the policy.