In this article for Yes Magazine, authors Josephine Ferorelli and Meghan Elizabeth Kallman dissect the concept of population control and find that it is founded on three toxic assumptions:

• that rapid population growth is the cause of “underdevelopment” in the Global South
• that policy to persuade (or force) people to have fewer children to improve the conditions in which they live, and
• that the combination of finance, managerial, technological, and Western intervention techniques can “deliver” birth control to the Global South.

The authors go on to give various examples of coercive population control, which typically targets marginalized people. They criticize the sexism, racism, and classism of the elites who think that they can determine who is “fit” to become parents. According to the authors: “Even when those biases are not an explicit policy, wealthy people are more apt to be considered fit parents. These practices have been a weapon used by the powerful to control the less powerful”.

Editor’s Note: Note that the article cited below does not yet question does not question the existence of climate change. It however, highlights important points that questions the current narrative. Some of these points include: (1) the myth that climate change is brought about by overpopulation, (2) that disincentivizing parenting can solve the climate crisis is already proven to be a failure.

The authors also bring home an important point: that the West needs to undergo a massive cultural shift if it wants to truly make a difference for the environment. To quote: “We need policies that balance a global standard for quality of life with rapid decarbonization and with a progressive focus on dematerialization for the West. No valid policy involves repressing human rights or outsourcing responsibility”.

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