Chinese Fight Club

Mara Hvistendahl writes in the July 9 issue of TNR that increased violence is one likely result of China’s abortion policy: “After almost 30 years of the policy, China now has the largest gender imbalance in the world, with 37 million more men than women and almost 20 percent more newborn boys that girls nationwide.” She cites historical and sociological studies that link violence to absence of females. According to David Courtwright, “the immigrants and westward immigrants who shaped early America . . . were largely young single men, who are – today as well as then – disproportionately responsible for drug abuse, looting, vandalism, and violent crime.” She suggests that “The coming boom in restless young men promises to overhaul Chinese society in some potentially scary ways.”