How long ago was popuation control dreamed up?

Brinty · 05-03-2009, 12:08 AM

In his book, Beyond Stonehenge, first published in 1973, Gerald S. Hawkins makes an interesting observation. On page 258 he’s talking about growth and expansion of civilisation and says . . . .

Unending expansion with limited resources is impossible. One cannot get a quart out of a pint jar. The law of supply and demand, relied on in the past as a stability factor, produces not a healthy balance but inflation. The economic factors must be gradually adapted to a stabilized system with no upward pointing curves - flat profits, flat inventory, flat consumption.

Here is the piece that brought me up short and I had to read it twice to take it in . . .

Paul Ehrlich recommended that Britain reduce her population to 30 million, curb the use of energy, abolish the internal combustion engine of the car (a disastrous resource sink), and plan for a stabilized environment with zero growth rate.

He continues on page 259 . . .

At the beginning of the era of modern science three centuries ago, Francis Bacon said, “Nor can nature be commanded except by being obeyed, and so those twin objects, human knowledge and human power, do really meet in one . . .”

Today we live in a world of complexity. Half a million man-made chemicals now flood the eco-system.

If that was the situation in 1973, can you imagine what it is today some 36 years later?

05-03-2009, 12:08 AM	#1
Brinty Avalon Senior Member Join Date: Sep 2008 Location: Blackbutt, Queensland, Australia Posts: 1,004	How long ago was popuation control dreamed up? In his book, Beyond Stonehenge, first published in 1973, Gerald S. Hawkins makes an interesting observation. On page 258 he’s talking about growth and expansion of civilisation and says . . . . Unending expansion with limited resources is impossible. One cannot get a quart out of a pint jar. The law of supply and demand, relied on in the past as a stability factor, produces not a healthy balance but inflation. The economic factors must be gradually adapted to a stabilized system with no upward pointing curves - flat profits, flat inventory, flat consumption. Here is the piece that brought me up short and I had to read it twice to take it in . . . Paul Ehrlich recommended that Britain reduce her population to 30 million, curb the use of energy, abolish the internal combustion engine of the car (a disastrous resource sink), and plan for a stabilized environment with zero growth rate. He continues on page 259 . . . At the beginning of the era of modern science three centuries ago, Francis Bacon said, “Nor can nature be commanded except by being obeyed, and so those twin objects, human knowledge and human power, do really meet in one . . .” Today we live in a world of complexity. Half a million man-made chemicals now flood the eco-system. If that was the situation in 1973, can you imagine what it is today some 36 years later?