A Contrast in the Regulation of Procreation

Logic dictates that if you introduce a policy that restricts procreation in a culture that values boys over girls, you will end up with significantly fewer girls. The New Republic reminds us that t hat’s exactly what’s happened in China : “The one-child policy was instituted in an attempt to hamper the wild growth of the Chinese population. But, in the process of plugging one hole, the government may have left another open. The coming boom in restless young men promises to overhaul Chinese society in some potentially scary ways.” (Via Arts & Letters Daily )

North of China, the New York Times reports, we find that the Russians are finding more ways to encourage procreation, namely a new park bench designed to facilitate intimate encounters. But there’s no way to make sure that the stranger sitting next to you on the sloped park bench is one with whom you’d like to be intimate. I sense a problem here. And, I imagine, so do many young Russian women.