Robert Malthus was an 18th century economist who first published the
theory that rampant population growth would lead to poverty.
He had a few critics. One was the Pope. (Surprise, surprise!)
Another was Karl Marx, who said that more workers would mean more production.
When the Vietnamese government adopted Marxism, birth control was viewed as
a capitalist plot to make third world countries weak.
Family planning was prohibited and 'hero mothers' were given rewards for having ten children.
After the collapse of the Soviet Union, Viet Nam reviewed the issue and saw the obvious error.
Now a two child policy is promoted, similar to China.
How often have you heard that a Communist country admitted a past mistake?
This is one of a series of street signs in Vietnam.
It reads: In order to build a civilized, prosperous and beautiful city,
stop at the second child in order to bring them up properly.
Page borrowed from Ray
Click on the picture to go back.
