assumption: We have global overpopulation. So what would a viable longterm solution? Is the ‘malthusian’ debate settled, especially considering that we might run out of oil… is oil depletion really all that bad? Isn’t there ‘plenty space’ ? Some say we need ten planets as is, others say we can easily have 30 billion people. Who is right??
NOTE – we changed the time because of our sister meeting at fulfillment.
DATE: Saterday. 9:30, AM/SLT — 17:30, PM/GMT — 18:30 PM/CET
PLACE: http://slurl.com/secondlife/Cosmosia/242/41/26/?title=Cosmosia%20Red%20Versus%20Blue%20Pier&msg=Straight%20Ahead%20For%20the%20Action
RED
There is a problem. We need to take action. We can only take action if we stabilize populations. We cannot mandate population restrictions : never worked and never will work. The only way curtail population growth is we make people richer – to do that is we give people money – microcredits, loans and in many cases donations and charity. If we do not the poor in the third world will not break subsistence cycles. We must lift all people of the world slowly but surely into middle class as soon as possible with a global collective marshall plan, irregardless of skin color. All rich nations must contribute to this – if we do not we risk geat global hardship.
BLUE
We live in an insanely big world. Even if all people stand at an even distance over the world people would all be spaced miles apart. The idea that the world is anywhere near ‘full’ is nonsense. We can easily have more and we should. And we should all do what we do best. If some countries have a culture that leads them to makinga mess of things that is their choice. It is simply not our responsibility and the consequences are not our concerns. I am sorry but I reserve the right to simply not give a damn when people die in Africa. If they do they should have planned ahead, like we did in Europa and America and Japan, generations ago. Like they do in China and India. Why can’t an insanely rich place like Southafrica be one of the richest most modern places of the world? Bad choices, corruption, a miserable culture and lazy people. It takes hard work to get a nice country, modernity and a nice standard of living. Handouts and getting it for free only makes people lazy. Last thing we should do is keep Dictators and Lazy people in this mess they are in. Maybe if we let them figure it out for themselves something would change for the better. I say that if there is one reason for this problem of overpopulation it specifically is developmental aid. I say let the chips fall where they may – close borders and stop developmental aid, except where it’s bloody certain to benefit all involved – and that’s sound investment. I am not all that worried about this whole ‘overpopulation’ issue. Worst case, some people die. Haven’t they always? ”
How about the purple position?
That we do not have an overpopulation problem at all, we have a resource allocation problem due to 1% of the world population controlling 90% of the worlds resources, and who are using those resources to try and control even more. We have a “media” problem because those in control of those resources don’t want the topic laid out so plainly, so rather than allowing the public to look at the root causes of human suffering, which are entirely due to various “privileged” social “tiers” supporting and funding oppressive governments in order to ensure their “special interests” are met and who view the “necessities” of life for all humans as “Commodities” to be hoarded and controlled, and released to the “common masses” in as grudging and minimal a manner a possible, they keep people distracted with such baseless arguments as “The world has a population problem” or “the World doesn’t have a population problem”, rather than looking at the real problem of “The world has a problem with rich greedy elites who don’t think that controlling 90% of the worlds resources is enough, and who are quite willing to allow the bulk of humanity to starve rather than lift one finger to help, because it would make them just a little bit less wealthy.”
We can support five times the number of people we have on this planet, and in the end we probably will, because we’re rapidly advancing to the point where we can manufacture nearly anything for almost no cost, including food. We are not even close to having “Used up” our “natural resources” and with the advent of better and better recycling technology, we will be “wasting” less and less. Very soon, we’re going to be mining those “Junkyards, Landfills, and waste dumps” for the valuable atoms they contain, we’re going to be removing carbon from the atmosphere for it’s use in nearly everything, and long before we reach “population saturation” we’ll be making space habitats and terraforming Mars.
And we will still likely have that arrogant elite, controlling 90% of the resources, because we humans are wired to create “pecking orders”, but that elite will no longer concern itself with such worthless dross as material resource because wealth will only come from intelligent, educated human minds, and the more of those there are, the more value they can create.
And things like “Poverty and want” as we know them today will simply cease to exist.