Origins from Club of Rome Rhetoric
The Club of Rome, a self-described “group of world citizens, sharing a common concern for the future of humanity," was founded in the late 1960s (Maessen). Its views were “specifically designed to blame man for" climate change and the destruction of earth's resources, and it proposed that the only way to protect the environment is through a population reduction (Maessen). In order to shrink the population, the Club suggested that “either the birthrate to be brought down ‘to equal the new, lower death rate’, or ‘the death rate must rise again’” (Maessen). The Club believed that reducing the number of children a woman could have to one would resolve the environmental crisis, and as eugenicist Alan Weisman said, “reduce Earth’s population down to around 1.6 billion by 2100, about the same as the world population in 1900” (qtd. Maessen). With the Club of Rome’s ideas in place, it was only a matter of time before someone recognized them as worthy of implementation and attempted to reduce the number of children per woman to one.
Song Jian, a missile scientist, was that person. In 1978, he attended a conference in Finland on control-system theory and design, where he “picked up copies of ‘The Limits to Growth and Blueprint for Survival’- publications of the Club of Rome . . . and made the acquaintance of several Europeans who were promoting the report’s method of using computerized ‘systems analysis’ to predict and design the human future” (Zubrin). When Song returned to China, he published “The Limits to Growth and Blueprint for Survival” under his own name and rounded up a select group of mathematicians to aid him in creating a computer model of China’s population (Zubrin). He determined that China’s “correct” population size was “650 million to 700 million people” or “some 280 million to 330 million less than its actual 1978 population” (Zubrin). Song’s findings were popular with the Chinese Communist party and Deng Xiaoping, as they provided evidence that the cause of “China’s continued poverty was not 30 years of disastrous misrule, but the very existence of the Chinese people” (Zubrin). The government also realized that by limiting the nation’s population it could increase the size and scope of its power (Zubrin). Therefore, thanks to Song Jian, China’s one-child policy has deep roots in the Club of Rome’s rhetoric concerning limiting population growth and size to preserve the environment.
Song Jian, a missile scientist, was that person. In 1978, he attended a conference in Finland on control-system theory and design, where he “picked up copies of ‘The Limits to Growth and Blueprint for Survival’- publications of the Club of Rome . . . and made the acquaintance of several Europeans who were promoting the report’s method of using computerized ‘systems analysis’ to predict and design the human future” (Zubrin). When Song returned to China, he published “The Limits to Growth and Blueprint for Survival” under his own name and rounded up a select group of mathematicians to aid him in creating a computer model of China’s population (Zubrin). He determined that China’s “correct” population size was “650 million to 700 million people” or “some 280 million to 330 million less than its actual 1978 population” (Zubrin). Song’s findings were popular with the Chinese Communist party and Deng Xiaoping, as they provided evidence that the cause of “China’s continued poverty was not 30 years of disastrous misrule, but the very existence of the Chinese people” (Zubrin). The government also realized that by limiting the nation’s population it could increase the size and scope of its power (Zubrin). Therefore, thanks to Song Jian, China’s one-child policy has deep roots in the Club of Rome’s rhetoric concerning limiting population growth and size to preserve the environment.
Fascinated by the possibilities, Mr. Song returned to China and republished the Club’s analysis under his own name (without attribution), establishing his reputation for brilliant and original thinking. In no time at all, Mr. Song became a scientific superstar. -- Robert Zubrin
Copyright © 2013 by Alexa Tsintolas. All rights reserved.
