Malthusianism - The new cause celebre ??
Do you agree ?????? Are you a Malthusian ? :))
It's official: Malthusianism, the belief that there are too many people on the planet, has become fashionable. A-list fashionable. Alongside the grumpy old men in grey suits who have traditionally made up the Malthusian lobby, Hollywood starlets now bemoan the burden of humanity on the planet.
Cameron Diaz has come out as a population-worrier. Asked in the current issue of Cosmopolitan why she hasn't had any children, she replied: "We don't need any more kids. We have plenty of people on this planet." She has displayed her "Malthusian bent", says a BBC blogger, who argues: "It's all the rage at the moment … to link unchecked population growth and damage to the environment."
It certainly is. Malthusians – named after Thomas Malthus (1766-1834), the original population scaremonger – are everywhere. Population-reducers and population-controllers were once a bit more shamefaced, dressing up their arguments in terms like "reproductive choice" and "demographic crisis". Now they much more openly state that there are "too many people", and that some of them will have to go.
The arch Malthusian James Lovelock describes humans as a "pathogenic organism" and a "plague": "The human species is now so numerous as to constitute a serious planetary malady."
And as with all maladies, the only possible solution is to destroy it – or at least some of it. On BBC Radio 3's Nightwaves at the end of last year, Dr Susan Blackmore said "there are too many people" and then said: "For the planet's sake, I hope we have bird flu or some other thing that will reduce the population, because otherwise we're doomed."
David Attenborough recently joined the ranks of the Malthusians, arguing: "I've never seen a problem that wouldn't be easier to solve with fewer people." He must have a very one-sided view of history, where era-defining events – from revolutions to the construction of cities to the election of Barack Obama – have often required the hard work and brainpower of millions of people.
Source - The Guardian
As you say, huge advances have been made in healthcare. this means that people are living longer and thus utilizing more of the earth's resources. So isn't what Malthus said more pertinent today ?
too many people will lead to problems.... big problems... the biggest driver for more people? Economics, if the next generation is bigger then there are more consumers and this is the only way you can have positive financial growth year after year... but it comes at a price..
http://www.arrogantly.com/2005/01/14/tsunami-malthus-business-and-fraud/
Untill today I thought I was the only person who even knew who Malthus was and in one day I have read his theory referred to twice.
Since Malthus time huge advances have been made in health care thus more people are surviving , in wealthier countries child mortality has dropped. More people. However , methods of cultivation , disease resistant and higher yielding crops have been developed,land reclamation etc.
Its the new hip rediscovered theory for people to spout who want to sound like intellectuals.
So, if we run desease run rife, the population explosion will be controlled.
Sounds feasible. But is it ethical ?