Population and Development: Is a Consensus Possible?

The debate concerning population growth and economic development cen ters on whether efforts should be specifically directed at reducing popu lation growth or on general economic and social development. Arguments supporting the former include 1) the position that unrestrained population growth is the principal cause of social problems; 2) the position that there is a demand for fertility control and thus provision of services is needed; 3) the human rights position that it is a fundamental right to determine family size, to have good health, and for women to control their own bodies; and 4) the population-programs-plus-d evelopment position. Positions against the need for special population programs include 1) the pronatalist position; 2) the revolutionary position; 3) the anticolonial and genocide position; 4) the position that the developed countries overconsume resources, which is more detrimental than the population growth; 5) the position that the problem is one of underemployment and that a proper economy can provide employment regardless of population size; 6) the position that the problem is one of distribution of the population, not of its size; 7) the position that fertility will decline when mortality declines and that provision of social security will lead to fertility declines; 8) the status-of-women position; 9) the religious-doctrine position; 10) the medical-risk-of-contraception position; 11) the holistic-development position; and 12) the social-justice position. A consensus position on population plus development programs which would include elements of the other positions seems to be the most logical means of formulating a program for action that would be acceptable to a majority of countries.