CONTROVERSIAL: Paper due the 11th.

[Nightfyre]

I am writing a series of papers based on the following concept:
Overpopulation: A result of societal immaturity, which is creating the strife on current economies and ecosystems by creating “over-demand” of resources. Overpopulation is a cause of many of our contemporary issues.

This is what I have thusfar.
Discuss points and counterpoints. Please explore the idea thoroughly. The edges are still rough, but I think this type of forum debate could help my papers considerably.

I will post updates as I progress through the week to be sure.



EDIT: This is definitely a rough sketch of my ideas. Please ask me to clarify any points as it will help shape my paper as well.

COPYRIGHT:
Nightfyre

Society has evolved based on evolution in three aspects of itself. Government, religious doctrine, and particularly philosophical individuals have all brought society to its current state.
Stages of government (size of government):
Anarchy (0)
Packs (1)
Tribes (2)
Republic (corrupt) (imperialistic)(3) (romans)
Monarchy (imperialistic)(4) (brits, French, Spanish pre WWII)
Fascism (imperialistic)(5) (germans, Italians, Japanese WWII)
Monarchy (4) (brits)
Republic (corrupt) (3) (brits prerevolution)
Socialism (corrupt) (4) (Chinese, Russians Coldwar era)
Democracy (less oppressive republic) (2) (America Today)
(Graph Govt.)
Will the world mature in time to recognize the errors of our compulsive desire to procreate?
Most important factors in underdeveloped maturity:
Societal:
Religious Doctrine
People invoke their religion in an attempt to press their own moralities on others. This slows down the people who choose to explore.
Government
Has become so affected by religion that “because the bible said so” is becoming an acceptable justification for amendments and laws.
Cultural Views
Infanticide, males are superior jargon.
Personal:
Religion
Offers “easy way out” to people, cutting off further exploration.
Many choose just to accept what they are fed.

Certainly Society helps one to grow quickly, however, it also hinders individuals by limiting their further growth by closing off worldviews.

[Hammock Parties]

Interesting topic.

I almost posted that monarchy should be in your timeline before republic but then I saw that you had it all laid out correctly. It is interesting to note how advanced of a civilization the Romans had before it crumbled and the world was ruled by reeruned Monarchies/Dictatorship.

Although at the same time you might want to throw the Greeks in there before the Romans, and they were a Democracy if memory serves.

I think going from TRIBES to REPUBLIC is a bit of a giant leap, don't you think?

There is also the Chinese to consider...if memory serves they had an advanced society compared to the rest of the world well before the Roman Empire.

[Nightfyre]

I will discuss tomorrow, after freshening up (sleep) and post an update.

[Nightfyre]

Originally Posted by gochiefs

Interesting topic.

I almost posted that monarchy should be in your timeline before republic but then I saw that you had it all laid out correctly. It is interesting to note how advanced of a civilization the Romans had before it crumbled and the world was ruled by reeruned Monarchies/Dictatorship.

Although at the same time you might want to throw the Greeks in there before the Romans, and they were a Democracy if memory serves.

I think going from TRIBES to REPUBLIC is a bit of a giant leap, don't you think?

There is also the Chinese to consider...if memory serves they had an advanced society compared to the rest of the world well before the Roman Empire.

I couldnt find the word for clans fighting for power in my head and I had ideas to develop, my bad.

[Nightfyre]

O BTW if this thread falls off the front page, the members of Chiefsplanet clearly lack any opinion on anything.

[Hammock Parties]

Originally Posted by Nightfyre

I couldnt find the word for clans fighting for power in my head and I had ideas to develop, my bad.

That is basically a form of a tribe, IMO.

[teedubya]

irregardless of opinion, something will be done by the global elite in the forthcoming years to dramatically curb overpopulation.

In various research that I have read ... I came across a nugget that David Rockefeller head of Rockefeller family, Trilateral Commission, and Council of Foreign Affairs, said the population should be systematically decreased by upwards of 80%.

[Nightfyre]

**** it,
I cant sleep now. I will post some essays that developed into this idea.

[Nightfyre]

Consumer Freedom
Juliet Schor presents an argument to limit consumerism based on environmental protection and societal needs. She then presents some rather sophomoric counter-opinions with stronger supporting essays. However, I find her opinion to be rather socialist and quite unwieldy.
There are better ways of protecting the environment than limiting consumerism. Perhaps limiting production is the solution. By moving the supply line to the left, the demand will decrease as will the equilibrium price. Thusly people will have to be more selective in their more environmentally destructive products. I as much as anyone, am against taxes against the individual, however, taxes could be employed to raise the price and have a similar effect. It would be easier than redistributing the wealth on a national level and preserve the spending rights of the consumer.
Societal needs are an issue Schor attempts to tackle. Again, she falls short of acknowledging reality. The democracy is a body designed to preserve the rights of the individual. To attempt to blend individuality with socialism is impossible. It has been tried on multiple occasions in the Soviet Union, North Korea, and China. The nations died in a swill of corruption. They began to revert back to capitalism and they boomed for it. Perhaps the problem is not the system, but the number of people within it.
Coping with the demands of six billion people must be taxing on the Earth. Perhaps if humans had not inflated to such great quantities, resources would not be so scarce and the Earth would not be so damaged. Perhaps the problem is not within the amount people as individuals consume, but the amount of people scrambling for the limited resources at hand. The human race as a whole has grown disproportionately to its environment. Thus a destructive cycle has begun in which the human’s individual desires outweigh the capacity of the environment, and therefore, crush it. Population control is the necessary step to obsolving the societal issues at hand, not limiting consumer rights to protect an overburdening populous.
The overburdening populous continues to lumber towards its doom, however. Population growth is still quite out of control and the issues will remain as long as people are so near-sighted. I, for one, will take it upon myself to have no children and to die young. After all, quality of life is not the same as length. Quality is defined by the individual, by the consumer.

[Nightfyre]

Responsibility
“I, Myles Horton, take full responsibility, with what I know, what I intuit, what I believe, what I guess, what I feel. I’m making this decision, and I accept it as my responsibility. I can’t blame anyone.” Myles Horton has reached a point in his maturity curve where he can take responsibility for his actions.
There is a maturity curve upon which each person and even society on a whole level sits. Along with gaining maturity, one begins to accept the consequences for one’s own actions, if not just for foresight that honesty will get you further than dishonesty. Certainly, people, as they mature, can begin to look further ahead than the simple immediate gratification and see that further down their path of life, it would be more beneficial for them to be responsible. They have the trust of others to gain and less integrity to lose rather than losing both in a defaming revelation later on.
Society also has advanced on a maturity curve, though much slower. Slavery was commonplace not 100 years ago, and now oppression based on skin color seemingly is on the fringe of being deserted. This is an example of society maturing along that curve. Unfortunately, society is not yet at the point where it takes responsibility for its destructive nature. All people are responsible for the slowness of societal growth along the maturity curve.
There is a tie between personal and societal maturity. Societal maturity can be nothing more than the average of personal maturities, within a democracy. Because the majority rules, their maturity level is reflected in the way they lead life and the standards that they hold others to (their laws.) Ironically, people are born and grow into societies maturity level and usually achieve little additional growth. This is what makes maturity growth so difficult. It would seem, the only was to grow beyond the bounds of society is to remove oneself from society.

[Nightfyre]

The Problem Before Us
“The problem before us is how to feed billions of new mouths over the next several decades and save the rest of life at the same time, without being trapped in a Faustian bargain that threatens freedom and security.”(Wilson, 118) Genetic engineering will surely play a strong part in this operation, but will they be enough? And if the genetic engineer is coming along too slowly, will the technology be rushed into implementation?
With many mouths to feed, agricultural production will become more and more important. Genetic engineering can be a valuable asset to our food production if contained and tested properly. GMOs (Genetically Modified Organisms) can provide drastically increased production in the same amount of space through protection from pests, enhanced growth rates, and even in durability to the elements. With the increase of population, the demand for meet will rise, therefore creating a rise in price of meat. The rise in price of meat will create more dependence on agriculture, making the strain on the agricultural industry even greater, as they will need to produce all the more. GMOs can help with that, but they need to be properly contained and tested first.
Rushing a GMO into production could be disastrous. GMOs have the potential to harm people on intake, as well as to become weeds. For example, there was a GMO that was crossed with a peanut plant to give it added protein. Unfortunately, it was not adequately tested and people who were allergic to peanuts reacted when they ate the GMO. A GMO could also easily become a weed because we make them into “super plants.” Some are immune to herbicides. If they should spread from the crop areas and infest peoples gardens, destroying the other plants that are around it. Caution must be exercised if GMOs are to be implemented successfully.
As with most solutions, the one involving GMOs must be one of moderation. They can benefit mankind and help humans to get over the peak of the population curve, but they must be well tested and contained. If the situation is mistreated, a great benfit will be lost and/or great damage will be inflicted.

[Nightfyre]

Originally Posted by gochiefs

That is basically a form of a tribe, IMO.

well form this sprung a delegation from each tribe used as a representative, I would think.

[teedubya]

realistically they could feed the world if Hemp was legal.

[Nightfyre]

Originally Posted by Ali Chi3fs

realistically they could feed the world if Hemp was legal.

ive heard this argument... It intrigues but does not convince.

[Hammock Parties]

Originally Posted by Ali Chi3fs

irregardless of opinion, something will be done by the global elite in the forthcoming years to dramatically curb overpopulation.

In various research that I have read ... I came across a nugget that David Rockefeller head of Rockefeller family, Trilateral Commission, and Council of Foreign Affairs, said the population should be systematically decreased by upwards of 80%.

That's garbage. How are they going to kill over 5 billion people?