The New York Times reports that India is taking a more aggressive tack in population control. Much of it involves demanding elites (members of legislatures and village councils) to limit their procreation. I don’t think that’s the right way to go personally-and as the article points out, some states have had success limiting population growth, but more through economic development and social awareness than by government fiat. Finally, note the wide variance in population growth in the different states of India. One good thing about the current policies are that they are locally directed rather than a federal project.
China’s one child policy has been a success-but China is an authoritarian state. Nations where freedom is a central principle of organization can not it seems enforce something as draconian as the one child policy-even in a diluted fashion, without undermining their values and debasing the legitimacy of the political system.
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