I see two problems here: overpopulation and intelligent populations. So the ultimate goal would be to produce a smaller, more intelligent population, right?
Overpopulation: This problem could not be solved simply by regulating birth. If everyone lives forever, we still have a problem. In other words, people don't die enough. Morbid, yes, but without death, one cannot appreciate life, for there is no motivation. Part of the problem with overpopulation is that the people from less privileged backgrounds that need to consider having fewer children are the very people that have limited access to information and/or feel that without producing a multitude of children, their family lines will die out (which is apparently more undesirable than trying to live on a planet that does not have enough resources), so they continue to produce loads of children, forming a vicious cycle of need>potential for production.
Intelligence: I think part of the problem with the children of today (my generation included, of course) is that most of the people that have kids are kids themselves and know nothing about how to be a parent. The society (at least in America, from what I've seen these past 20 years) is so focused on being 'cool', up to date, competitive, and efficient, that they've lost sight of how to teach someone the basic skills of how to be a person. Kids are not taught that stealing is wrong, they're taught that getting caught is wrong, and that you have to pay a price for getting caught. Stealing just gets you free stuff and the cops are mean. Moms want to be their daughter's best friend and fit in with all her friends, so you find teenage girls that have no idea how to carry themselves or keep their hormones to themselves. Their moms go and sign them up for tanning booths (aka: cancer beds), skimpy clothing, and nose/belly button piercings. Mom participates in all of this, plus she bleaches her hair because 'blonde is better' (and covers grey). Then they send their kid to church camp to 'get away from technology' and are all surprised when the kid gets sent home because they were doing things in the pool that no one should ever have to witness. Perhaps all this could be fixed if parents knew how to be parents instead of friends, and kids could prevent themselves from having kids. Yes, I know, that whole argument about how girls used to get married at have kids at 13. BUT that was back when people were responsible for their actions at that age, whereas now people of that age are told that they're immature, don't know jack diddly, and besides, if you do something dumb, your record will be sealed when you turn 18 anyway. Oh, and schools can't discipline children anymore because "my precious angel could never do that, and you should never spank my baby. Oh, the pain you want to cause them!" Bleh. You can also never embarrass a child in a classroom, nor can you try to incite any kind of motivation for them to learn. That would be too 'mean', 'harsh', or 'damaging to their psyche'. I'd say the intelligence problem, at least in America, is mostly due to the children running the show because parents don't know how to parent and schools being unable punish them in any way to show that there are consequences for actions.
I plan on raising my children to be thoughtful and tolerant. That's better than many people in this world.
