It is unfortunate that so many have heard of China's one child policy, but that so few actually know what that policy is. Most will tell you without any hesitation that China does not allow couples to have more than one child. This is simply not true. The one child policy basically deals with government support, or in this case the lack of government support.

Make no mistake about it - China is a communist country. We tend to forget that in the west. Communism is all about the re-distribution of wealth. It seeks to spread the wealth around, to even the playing field as it were. It fails in this endeavor, and ultimately is a repressive and failed political system, but then, that is another subject. Since the government supports the citizens, it is able to exercise power over its citizens by the giving or withholding of finances. In other words, it gives more money to those that are politically correct and follow the party line of thinking, and it gives less money to those that do not.

In the case of the one child policy the communist party discourages couples from having more than one child by not offering financial support for more than one child. It is not that couples "cannot" have more than one child; it is just that it will be a great financial hardship for them.

I am no supporter of communism, nor of the Chinese government, but I see no need to villainies them beyond what is true. In truth, the one child policy should be a wake up call for all those who seek to empower government. The more power that is given to the government, the less individual freedom remains. Power is best left in the hands of the citizens, not in the hands of the government.

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