One Child: Do We Have a Right to More? By Sarah Conly

Population studies have been deeply influenced by a neo-Malthusian framework whose proponents predicted that the world’s population would cross 7 billion people by the year 2011. In her book One Child: Do we have a Right to More? Sarah Conly argues that ignoring such demography will lead to severe ecological degradation. Centered in context of the USA, the book’s seven chapters connect to major American political discourse (including debates heavily influenced by religion and belief systems). Utilizing a philosophical approach to this debate, Conly centers her argument on issues of morality and personal autonomy as she questions the right to have more than one offspring—particularly since there are direct linkages between population and vital resources such as land, food, and fossil fuels. …