Author(s): Matthew Connelly

Current Affairs

"Fatal Misconception" is the disturbing story of our quest to remake ourselves by policing national borders and breeding better people. As the population of the world doubled once, and then again, well-meaning people concluded that only population control could preserve the "quality of life." This movement eventually spanned the globe and carried out a series of astonishing experiments, from banning Asian immigration to compensating the poor who accepted sterilization.Supported by affluent countries, foundations, and non-governmental organizations, the population control movement experimented with ways to limit population growth. But it had to contend with the Catholic Church's ban on contraception and nationalist leaders who warned of "race suicide." The ensuing struggle caused untold suffering for those caught in the middle-particularly women and children. It culminated in the horrors of sterilization camps in India and the one-child policy in China.Matthew Connelly offers the first global history of a movement that changed how people regard their children and ultimately the face of humankind.