socialist guinea pigs

airawyn:

We do have an overpopulation problem. We also have an over-consumption problem, a racism problem and a blaming-the-poor problem. It’s not either/or.

With some things it’s not either/or. However, the facts remain that we DO have an overconsumption/racism problem, and we DON’T have an overpopulation problem.

The population growth rate is slowing down because it’s a percentage. If you’re driving a car into a wall and you take your foot off the gas, your acceleration will decrease. That’s not much comfort when you hit that wall at 60 mph.

We will hit the wall at 9 billion, as I already stated. This is due to the fact that the rate is decreasing.

So we’re going to hit a population peak in 2050. How does a population peak? How does the number of people go down if the people don’t stop reproducing? Here’s a hint: Europe had a drastic population drop in the 14th century.

Okay, I’m sorry, but…are you kidding me? Decrease in population growth rate is caused directly by decrease in population in certain countries. Take a look at what countries have a decrease in population. Not in rate, but in population. Many of the industrialised countries have negative population growth. Why is this? Is it because they were all hit by the bubonic plague?

A population is made up of people.

Yes it is. However, overpopulation isn’t people. Overpopulation is the myth that there are too many people on earth, and that the number of people on earth now is the reason for environmental degradation and starvation.

People are starving because of other people. The environment is being damaged by people.

Incredibly simplistic explanation. People can cause all kinds of things. People can destroy the environment or revitalise it. The cause of people starving isn’t the fact that people exist. It’s because the massive amount of food we produce is being shipped off to feed livestock and people in the First World, with huge amounts being thrown away. The cause of environmental degradation isn’t the simple fact that people exist. It’s because of our lifestyles, our economic system that encourages massive overconsumption to the detriment of everything else.

And yes, people with privilege are doing more damage than people without privilege. That’s really important and needs to be acknowledged. But overpopulation is still part of the problem.

Well, at least the first two sentences of that statement were correct.

Edit: Just saw the secret that started this post and wow, ugh. Natural disasters won’t get rid of the overpopulation problem, anyway, not unless there was an apocalyptic, planet-wide natural disaster and that would be worse than any problems that stem from overpopulation itself. The best way to deal with overpopulation is for the people of the world to collectively and voluntarily limit reproduction and to conserve and share resources. 

(via varlandgear)

You’re right that people can voluntarily limit reproduction. It’s happening right now. Which is why I took issue with your statement about the bubonic plague. However, limiting reproduction isn’t necessary in order to feed the hungry and stop environmental degradation. It is, however, an essential result of empowering women all over the world.

(Source: socialistguineapigs)