Bad idea number 1: China instituted the vicious “one-child policy” in 1979, which led to untold millions of abortions, many forced. And the Chinese preference for boys led to sex-selection abortions, which has created a catastrophic gender imbalance, as many as 34 million more men than women.

Having revoked bad idea number 1, China now promotes two-child families as patriotic. It hasn’t worked. Chinese women aren’t having enough babies.

So here’s bad idea number 2: An economics professor in Shanghai has proposed that the government allow women to have two husbands. Sure, he acknowledges, long-term monogamous marriages “benefit kids’ growth and education, but, he claims, multiple husbands would be more “efficient.” After all, he wrote, “Making meals for three husbands won’t take much more time than for two husbands.”

And, here’s bad idea number 3: He also wants to combat gender imbalance by legalizing brothels.

My goodness. How bad can ideas get?