A strong family is defined as one that is united in the face of adversity and provides for the basic needs of its component members. Examples of these needs include financial support for those who require it, moral support and emotional support. On the other hand, a family is weak when it either serves no purpose that cannot be provided by any other institution or when it fosters negative emotion in the hearts of its members. Recently we have heard of various occurrences of family violence, divorce and other negative incidents concerning the family from mass media sources. Naturally, the majority would have the perception that the family institution is on the decline. However, we believe that this is just an unfair generalization and that the family is just simply changing or evolving not deteriorating.
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In 2001, the world had 6.1 billion inhabitants. Compare this with the approximated 300 million inhabitants in A.D. 1, and the population growth rate is self-evident: 2000% in merely two millennia. Throughout the past 50 years, world population has grown faster than it has ever done before. Perhaps for this reason, we have seen advocates of population control among even the more conservative world leaders. Clearly, their arguments would hold water. The increasing world population has brought with it environmental degradation while the decreasing stockpile of Earth’s limited resources is worrying. Both coupled together imply a decreasing standard of living, especially in areas where the population growth rate is a high positive. By contrast, arguments from the opposition appear less tangible. It is argued that population control is not needed at all; that the world’s escalating population size is sustainable through more efficient utilisation of Mother Earth’s scarce resources. There is then also the view that the sanctity of life is untouchable while the more economic-minded maintain that the funding for population control could be better utilised.
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