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Chapter 1232 Population Explosion (First update, please subscribe)
You should always say something!

As a scholar, I accepted the invitation of Nanyang University and came to Nanyang to give lectures at the beginning of the year. I was faced with the miraculous development of Nanyang and the affluent and even unimaginable life of the people.

He was naturally very happy. After all, everything here only existed in his dreams in the past, and he couldn't even imagine it in his dreams.

But after arriving in Nanyang, the middle-aged man was delighted but also fell into deep thought when he saw so many young children running around in the community parks.

I even fell into a certain kind of worry, which was caused by a sense of responsibility.

His inner responsibility drove him to say something for Nanyang.

"poverty!"

In the classroom, as an economist, he wrote these two words on the blackboard.

Then, turning to the students, he said:
"Perhaps, in your impression, the memory of poverty is vague. Most of you immigrated to Southeast Asia when you were children. In your memory, there is only the prosperity of Southeast Asia. Indeed, the prosperity of the people in Southeast Asia can be said to be rare in the world, at least in the imagination of all of us, or even something we have never imagined!"

When he said this, most of the students laughed. There was pride in their smiles, and this pride came from the heart, because this kind of affluent life was indeed beyond imagination. According to their parents, it was something they had never imagined in their dreams.

"However, we should be prepared for danger in times of peace. What I want to talk to you about today is poverty. We are all Tang people, so let's take Tangshan as an example."

He looked at the students and said:
"We used to say that Tangshan is vast and rich in resources. In fact, Tangshan does not have much arable land. Tangshan has a large population and a small land area. At that time, we said that the population was 40 million, which was already the highest in the world. But later we found out that Tangshan's population had reached 580 million when the first census was conducted in May 3rd. This was after years of war. The population was so large, but the corresponding land and resources were relatively scarce, which led to Tangshan's poverty. In fact... this is the main reason for poverty... If the population is not controlled and production cannot keep up, it will be difficult for the country to get rid of poverty in the short term, and it will be difficult for the country to become strong and prosperous, and it will be difficult for the people to become rich quickly."

Before he finished speaking, several students had already raised their hands, asking to speak. He pointed at one of them and asked him to stand up and speak.

"Professor, Nanyang and Tangshan are fundamentally different. The proportion of agricultural output in Nanyang's economy is negligible, even negligible. Compared with the scarcity of land and resources, Nanyang's real scarcity should be said to be production power - well, insufficient labor, which has always restricted Nanyang's development."

"Yes, professor, you are talking about the fact that production cannot keep up, but the scale of production in Nanyang is limited by the labor force."

Although they were just students, they still pointed out the professor's misunderstanding directly.

In fact, regarding population theory, Nanyang runs counter to the mainstream view of this era. In this era, many sociologists and economists in Europe and Asia attribute poverty to large populations and regard large populations as a burden. For example, Tangshan, India, Japan, Peninsula, etc., even the United Nations encourages population control.

But unlike them, Nanyang regards population as wealth!

"Yes, you are right, but..."

The professor wrote a number on the blackboard.

"7000 million, this is the number of newborns in Southeast Asia in the past decade. 80% of them were born in the past decade. That's 5600 million! This is simply a miraculous number, almost equivalent to the United States with a population of over million."

In fact, the United States also experienced a baby boom - from 18 to 7600, the number of births in the United States reached million in these years. This "baby boom" was unprecedented.

But now, in just 1961, the number of "baby boomers" born in Southeast Asia has already surpassed that of the United States during the same period.

Then he wrote another number.

"Six million! This is to take care of 600 million infants and children, and people working in related industries in Nanyang, including nursery teachers, kindergarten teachers, primary school teachers, doctors..."

While talking about these industries one by one, he wrote "80%" on the blackboard.

"80% of Nanyang's medical resources and medical insurance expenditures are used for childbirth and infant expenses. Take Chang'an Central Hospital as an example. Its inpatient department has 18 floors and 1800 beds, of which 1000 are used for obstetrics and gynecology, and 400 are used for infants and children."

After listing the numbers one by one, he wrote on the blackboard the annual expenses incurred by minors on public transportation such as buses, subways and high-speed trains.

After listing the numbers and expenses one by one, he said:
"In fact, we can see that Nanyang's annual fiscal revenue is equivalent to 46% of the gross national product, but the investment in minors accounts for more than 20% of fiscal expenditure. These expenditures are hidden in various aspects, such as education, medical care, and labor. They not only occupy a large amount of resources, but also cause a huge waste of manpower."

Looking at the student who just pointed out the labor shortage in Nanyang, the professor said:
"In order to take care of these infants and young children, there are 10 nurseries and kindergartens in Nanyang, with more than 150 million people working here. If the birth rate decreases by 50%, then it is certain that other industries can get at least 100 million workers, so the labor shortage situation will also be alleviated."

Looking at the students who seemed to be thinking deeply, the professor continued:
"What is certain is that in the next few years, there will be tens of millions more people born in Nanyang. The birth rate in Nanyang will not decline until the immigrants born in the 1950s reach middle age."

The "immigrants of the 1100s" he mentioned refer to the immigrants who came to Nanyang before 8000, and they are also the main force of Nanyang's population. "Excluding the nearly two million single men among the immigrants of the 4000s, there are still about million families, and this is also the main force of births, and their descendants will be about million people. According to the fertility concept of "brothers and sisters in a family, five is too few, six is ​​great, and seven is just right", these people will form million families in ten or twenty years, and they will give birth to at least million children! Now..."

Looking around at the students, the professor said in a serious tone:

"The question is - by then, will the resources of the South Seas be able to support a population of 350 million to continue to maintain the current standard of living?"

Then the professor wrote the words "Dynasty Cycle" on the blackboard, and when he turned around again, he spoke to the students.

"A few years ago, Tangshan scholars proposed that there was a historical phenomenon in ancient Tangshan. Simply put, in the early days of the dynasty, due to the sharp decline in population caused by war, land resources were sufficient. Under the policy of everyone having land and low tax burden, society regained stability, the economy gradually recovered, farmers had enough food to eat, the desire to have children was high, national tax revenue increased, and national strength continued to flourish. This is the "golden age".

However, as time went by, an inevitable problem gradually emerged - the population increased greatly, and the land became less and less. At the same time, as resources became scarce, land annexation became more and more serious. This eventually led to the collapse of the dynasty, and the world once again fell into war and chaos, and the population decreased greatly. Then there was chaos and order, and then prosperity again. "

Looking at the students in the audience, the professor asked in a very serious tone.

"What about Nanyang? Will something similar happen in Nanyang in the future? With the increase in population, by the end of the century, the population of Nanyang is likely to exceed 6 million. At that time, will the people of Nanyang still be able to live such a wealthy life as they do now?"

Facing the students, the professor continued to ask questions.

"Okay, do you still think that the population doesn't need to be controlled?"

Faced with such questions, they all fell into deep thought.

What the professor said seemed to make some sense.

Just a few days later, an article appeared in the newspaper. The title of the article was "Hidden Concerns about the Population Explosion in Southeast Asia."

This article directly points out the series of social problems caused by the high birth rate in Southeast Asia.

Some even pointed out that the high birth rate in Southeast Asia will inevitably lead to economic recession in the future, because social resources will be occupied by a large number of newborns, which will inevitably affect the economic development of Southeast Asia.

Such articles have caused unprecedented controversy in Southeast Asia. After all, the data listed in the articles are all true.

And to some extent, it is not alarmist, but a statement of fact.

As a result, this article naturally caused a great sensation in society. For a time, many economists and sociologists expressed their opinions.

Some people agree with the theory of population control, while others disagree. Those who agree have their reasons, while those who disagree have their reasons.

In short, for a time, there were endless debates everywhere. In the past, population was a taboo in Nanyang - it was well known that Nanyang needed labor, but now the extraordinary fertility has brought a burden to the entire society, people will always analyze and debate this issue from various angles.

Everyone is standing on the side of the interests of the Nanyang human population. No one is acting out of personal gain. They are simply concerned about the country.

When people were discussing this topic, everyone was stunned by the astonishing fertility rate in Nanyang.

7000 million!
In just less than 16 years, 7000 million people were born in Nanyang.

Faced with such a fertility rate, some people are naturally frightened. After all, they have witnessed the poverty brought about by tens of millions of people. It is precisely because of this precedent that they agree with the view that overpopulation will bring poverty.

It is even taken for granted that Nanyang's prosperity is based on its small population.

For a while, people were discussing population control theory. After all, it was the mainstream in the current sociology community.

And there are real examples. Tangshan before liberation, India today, and even Japan and South Korea are all examples of poverty caused by large populations!
With these vivid examples out there, everything else seems unconvincing.

It seems that controlling population is the only option for economic development in Nanyang.

The population explosion in Southeast Asia can definitely be called a miracle of post-war population growth!
But is such a miracle really a good thing for Nanyang?

(End of this chapter)