An Historical Sketch of the American Population Control Movement

Abstract

This paper critically examines the fundamental premises and historical background of the American population control movement and shows how the theories of Thomas Malthus became interwoven with those of the eugenics movement during the first four decades of this century. After World War II, the concern of eugenicists with “race betterment” and with halting multiplication of the “unfit” was replaced by claims that the world was gravely menaced by a “population explosion.” This thematic shift was consistent with the economic and political aims of American financiers and industrialists after 1945, and many of them, as indicated in this paper, became leading figures of the Population Establishment.

The author has proceeded with the belief that a rationally planned economy based upon collective ownership of wealth by the working class can furnish goods and services in abundance, while eradicating unemployment, starvation, and oppression. An end to economic exploitation would greatly expand health care facilities and educational opportunities, and demographic problems could be studied and solved within the context of constructing a society that served, rather than pillaged, its members. Today, the goal of intelligent planning of births, at both the family level and the collective level, is blocked by the continuing existence of capitalism. For that reason, exposition of scientific alternatives to present-day world population control plans is preceded by the urgent task of analyzing the complex interplay between those plans and the present system of exploitation and oppression.

In her conclusion, the author briefly reappraises the theories of Malthus, which have consistently shaped the decisions made by the Population Establishment. Like Malthus' assertions at the dawn of the industrial era, contemporary neo-Malthusian pronouncements ultimately rest upon assumptions that economic and social irrationalities are invincible and eternal. As the author indicates, neither capitalist society nor plans of action that seek to prolong its existence can offer solutions for today's pressing problems of famine and impoverishment.

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