Date: Sat, 21 Oct 95 17:10 EDT
To: ppn@CSF.COLORADO.EDU
From: "Michael.Chamberland" <23274MJC@MSU.EDU>
Subject: Re: Press Clips
>  >
>  . . . Fewer women in the population could ultimately
>  > result in slower population growth, and might not a shortage of women
>  > make the culture place a higher value on them?
>  >
>  > Michael Chamberland
>
> This reminds me of the "false scarcity" that capitalism always peddles.
> For example, the Federal Reserve props up the value of the dollar by
> increasing interest rates.  It can do this because it has a monopoly on
> the production and maintenance (via selective violence) of the currency.
>
> Similarly, a "false scarcity" of women falls right into this sort of
> thinking -- that the value of girl babies will be propped up by
> artificially having fewer of them due to their destruction or
> nonexistence.  What will the consequences of this be?  Girl babies being
> traded on a black market?  Rich Chinese men buying women?  This sort of
> thinking seems really dangerous, ultimately destructive, and feeds right
> into the hands of the profiteers.

Dangerous?  Sure it is dangerous.  The whole idea of slowing population
growth, or "population manipulation" can be regarded as dangerous.
Population reduction could be used as justification for all kinds of
autrocities.  On the other hand, a paralysing fear about how ZPG efforts
could be perverted can lead to total inaction.

But I don't understand.  In the scenario you mention, why would there be a
black market trade in girl babies or women?  Wouldn't this suggest that the
culture had turned around and started to value women more?  If sperm selection
was being used to select for male children, wouldn't the culture just
stop doing that?  Perhaps these cause-and-effects are impossible to
effectively predict?  I'm not well versed in the interest rate manipulation
you've used as anology.

Michael Chamberland