ABSTRACT A few decades ago, there was a lively debate on the problem of overpopulation. Various proposals to limit population growth and to control fertility were made and debated both in academia and in the public sphere. In the intervening decades, however, the idea of limiting population growth became taboo in policy discussions and was completely ignored in philosophy. More recently, there has been a small revival of anti-natalism in population policy and social philosophy. This is in part due to the growing recognition that the demographic transition might not be completed all around the world before overpopulation causes irreversible social, political, or environmental harm. Several proposals have been made to limit family size and lower fertility. However, all of these proposals are based on incentives only, and all are strictly voluntary: in their discussion, involuntary fertility control is considered coercive and therefore thought to necessarily involve a gross violation of procreative liberty and personal autonomy. The aim of this paper is to demonstrate that anti-natalist population policies need not involve the violation of procreative liberty and personal autonomy. To show this, I revive two radical proposals from the old debate. The first involves mandatory long-term contraception; the second involves the introduction of tradeable procreation entitlements. I show that contrary to what many people believe, these policies can be defended on the basis of broadly liberal principles. Not only do they not conflict with procreative liberty and personal autonomy, but they can actually increase liberty and promote autonomy.

中文翻译：

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人口过剩和生产自由

摘要几十年前，人们对人口过剩问题进行了激烈的辩论。在学术界和公共领域都提出并讨论了限制人口增长和控制生育的各种建议。然而，在随后的几十年中，限制人口增长的想法在政策讨论中成为禁忌，并且在哲学上被完全忽略。最近，在人口政策和社会哲学方面反犹太主义的复兴很小。这部分是由于人们日益认识到，人口过剩可能不会在人口过剩造成不可逆转的社会，政治或环境损害之前在全世界范围内完成。已经提出了一些限制家庭规模和降低生育率的建议。但是，所有这些建议都仅基于激励措施，并且都是严格自愿的：在他们的讨论中，非自愿生育控制被认为是强制性的，因此被认为必然涉及对生殖自由和人身自治的严重侵犯。本文的目的是证明，反对种族主义的人口政策不必涉及侵犯生殖自由和人身自主权。为了说明这一点，我从旧辩论中恢复了两个激进的建议。首先涉及强制性长期避孕；第二个问题是引入可交易的生育权利。我表明，与许多人的看法相反，可以在广泛的自由原则的基础上捍卫这些政策。它们不仅不会与生产性自由和人身自治相抵触，而且实际上可以增加自由并促进自治。非自愿生育控制被认为是强制性的，因此被认为必然涉及对生殖自由和个人自主权的严重侵犯。本文的目的是证明，反对种族主义的人口政策不必涉及侵犯生殖自由和人身自主权。为了说明这一点，我从旧辩论中恢复了两个激进的建议。首先涉及强制性长期避孕；第二个问题是引入可交易的生育权利。我表明，与许多人的看法相反，可以在广泛的自由原则的基础上捍卫这些政策。它们不仅不会与生产性自由和人身自治相抵触，而且实际上可以增加自由并促进自治。非自愿生育控制被认为是强制性的，因此被认为必然涉及对生殖自由和个人自主权的严重侵犯。本文的目的是证明，反对种族主义的人口政策不必涉及侵犯生殖自由和人身自主权。为了说明这一点，我从旧辩论中恢复了两个激进的建议。首先涉及强制性长期避孕；第二个问题是引入可交易的生育权利。我表明，与许多人的看法相反，可以在广泛的自由原则的基础上捍卫这些政策。它们不仅不会与生产性自由和人身自治相抵触，而且实际上可以增加自由并促进自治。