Rethink the human's place in the 'digital revolution'

HAS China any weakness? Well, yes and no. Of course, an opinion writer might say this, but I believe China is somewhat vulnerable to an incoming factor that will hit all nations big or small, developed or developing - and that's the third wave of technological change. I will come to this aspect later; first let me discuss other factors, again globally scoped.

China is the most populous nation on earth though soon to be overtaken by India. The United Nations has noted that the 7 billion world population will grow to about 11 billion by 2100 with most of that growth coming from sub-Saharan Africa and Asia. The one-child policy of China undoubtedly affected its demographic profile, but many other nations voluntarily reduced their birth rates.

Undoubtedly, it was China's women who did the most, driven by economics, the better availability of contraception and, above all, by knowledge. The most important aspect of their learning was that reducing infant mortality due to better healthcare and better post-natal care showed less need to have many children to ensure that a surviving male child would continue the family line. Data showed up to nine births were needed to be statistically sure of a surviving boy-child and thus total family numbers grew.