Too Many People

Saturday 6th August

Apart from being a great song on ‘Ram’ by McCartney it still remains the greatest problem facing mankind.  In the Sixties we were worried about feeding these burgeoning masses, especially in Africa and India, but somehow, and possibly even more dangerously by cutting down forests and genetic engineering, we seem to have solved this problem – though distribution still remains an issue, exacerbated by huge wealth differentials.  But the real problem with too many people is that they cause pollution, and as more, what used to be called ‘third world’ countries establish better economies their populations want consumer goods and mobile phones and motor cars, and along with that comes Global Warming.

But, as ever, the real reason for the world’s population continuing to increase is poverty.  Where there is no real safety net for people, especially as they age, then the solution for many is to have more children; so that at least some of them may feed and look after you in your old age.  And along with poverty there is lack of education, and education is the best route out of poverty; especially for girls, as they realise that they can control their own fertility and need not follow their mothers into multiple childbirths.

Of course slowing population growth also brings problems, as the demographics change, and as the West has discovered an ageing population without large numbers of younger workers paying taxes creates economic strains of a different kind.  Added to the rise in populations is the accelerating trend towards City growth, where people are sucked in as industrialisation of farming throws people off the land.

Nobody seems to be addressing or even raising population growth as a problem, yet even in Britain where there are still huge open spaces and only 11% of the land is occupied by buildings or roads people are already complaining that we are overcrowded.  The solution is a re-distribution of resources and wealth, but the ‘free’ market is not going to voluntarily do that I am afraid.  As Naomi Klein says Capitalism is not compatible with Humanity’s well-being.