Quote:
Originally Posted by The_Jazz
Hey, uh, GreyWolf, um, maybe you want to pick a better example than China seeing as how there's not much unrest there or social breakdown. To the contrary, it's a pretty stable country.
|
The stability of China is somewhat of an illusion. Please note I said not necessarily right away. The effects of the one-child/male preference policy/effect in China probably won't really be felt for another 10 years or so. But rest assured that the stability of the country rests on a very thin edge right now.
A standing army/paramilitary total of 7.5 million manages to deflect some of the competition for females (the US military, including reserves totals only about 2.5 million). Traditionally, men who cannot find/have not found a mate move into the military. This suggests that the 7.5 million figure will swell as more men follow that route. A country, even China, cannot long sustain a huge military without finding an outlet for it. That outlet is war. Including reservists (40+ million), almost 4% of China's population is tied up in the military. The US, by comparison has less than 0.8% of it's population in the military/reserves.
And sterilization
IS quick, cheap, and easy... for men. But unlike women, who have a "built-in" end to their reproductive viability, we don't - so it seems like a bigger step for us. For many men, sterility = loss of manhood. It ain't.