Is it a good idea to control the world's population growth?
Arguments
1. In modern times, a family with few children, or even with no children atall, is still a happy family.
2. With fewer children in a family, parents spend less time on householdchores and concentrate more on their own interests, and their children enjoybetter material and educational opportunities than those in bigger families.
3. The most pressing problem created by the rapid increase in population isa shortage of food. At present a large proportion of the existing population isnot getting enough of the right kind of food.
4. The rapid rise in world population is creating problems for allcountries on earth because there simply aren't enough resources.
5. Both rich and poor countries of the world should take united action todeal with the population explosion. Otherwise, there will be more peoplefighting for less land and fewer resources, and the future will bring poverty,misery and war to us all.
6. Population increase in developing countries has wiped out the materialbenefits that they have achieved.
7. Statistics show that where the population rate is high, people's livingstandards are Jow. This means, people's living conditions cannot improve unlessthere is a reduction in the increased rate of population.
8. Overpopulation creates a shortage of schools, teachers, hospitals anddoctors.
9. Overpopulation causes problems in housing and employment, especially incities.
10. Just imagine how much better life would be if the world population werecut by half!
Counter-arguments
1. People in agricultural areas need more children to help them with thework in the fields.
2. Whether to have children or not is a private matter and nobody shouldinterfere with it.
3. It is unfair to blame all the problems on the increase in population. Itis those greedy manufacturers and businessmen in developed countries that makethe heaviest demands on the world's resources and cause the most pollution.
4. If population control were a must, it should be carried out in developedcountries as well because a baby born in USA will use in his lifetime 30 timesmore of the world's resources than a baby born in India.
5. Children are the most important in life. With fewer children around,life will be dull, meaningless and unhappy. It is incredible for a couple tohave no children at all.
6. Children in a family give the parents a sense of responsibihty andpride. They are very important to the stability of a family.
7. Population control does greater harm than we realize. For instance, ifthe one-child pohcy is still in practice in 100 years, people then will havelittle idea of kinship~ ties, for most of them will have no brothers, sisters,uncles, aunts, or cousins.
8. With the govermnent's family planning policy in operation we now have ageneration of "only child" families: most of them are arrogant, selfish, andspoilt.
9. A big family offers children a chance to learn how to cope with and carefor other people.
10. Children in big families have the chance to compete with each other, interms of their manners at home, their study at school, their performance attheir place of work, etc. Older children usually have a great influence on theyounger one.