There is a dangerous myth that has been circulating the world for more than a century. This myth says that the world is overpopulated and that we need to reduce the human population for a variety of reasons. It’s been fueled by groups like Population Connection (formerly known as Zero Population Growth) and by Paul Ehrich’s apocalyptic book, the Population Bomb.
Ehrlich is not the only voice proclaiming the end is near. The UK’s “Optimum Population Trust (OPT) believes Earth may not be able to support more than half its present numbers before the end of the century,” The Telegraph summarized. The OPT movement has attracted followers such as David Attenborough.
In the US, Bernie Sanders recently vowed to support "empowering women and educating everyone on the need to curb population growth" as a response to climate change.
Elsewhere, James Lovelock advanced the Gaia hypothesis that Earth is one “self-regulating organism.” Lovelock forecasts the population of the Earth will fall to one billion from its current total of over seven billion people. Given Lovelock’s cheerfulness about such carnage, it is easy to see why Alan Hall, a senior analyst at The Socionomist, wonders whether “today’s drives to limit consumption and population” are ideologically related to the eugenics movement from the past century. In his essay “A Socionomic Study of Eugenics,” Hall writes in the Socionomist:
“… Circa 1900, influential intellectuals in Europe and the U.S. voiced concerns about uncontrolled procreation causing a supposed decline in the quality of human beings. Today, similar groups voice concerns about uncontrolled population growth and resource consumption causing a decline in the quality of the environment…Today’s green advocates brandish images of an overrun, dying planet. …”
Today, the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation is working to aid the lives of children living “in extreme poverty.” In his book, Factfulness, the late professor of international health Hans Rosling, reports on critics of the Gates Foundation who reject such efforts. “The argument goes like this,” Rosling writes. “If you keep saving poor children, you’ll kill the planet by causing overpopulation.”
In the face of advocates for such beliefs, no wonder Hall asks us to reflect on whether we “will make the cut” if those seeking to cull humanity are successful.
Yes, you read that correctly.
As you can see from it’s proponents, the myth of overpopulation is dangerous because it places the blame for resource waste and scarcity on individuals, especially the marginalised, the disabled, and the poor. The myth was created by the propagandists within the eugenics movement to justify their horrific policies (e.g., forced sterilization, selective abortions, etc.).
If you take a moment to do the math on human population vs. space on earth, you’d find that humans actually take up so little space on this planet that every single person (around 7 billion people) could fit into the state of Texas with 10m x 10m of space for each. There’s so much open, usable space on this planet. Take a moment and leave the city. You’ll see what I mean.
The truth is, there is enough land, food, shelter, clothing, and all the other vital resources to comfortably sustain each human on earth. But, the insatiable thirst for profit by the world’s oligarchs and overlords wastes tons of resources, wastes millions of tons of food, leaves millions of homes unoccupied, and so much more.
Never mind the racist / ableist history of eugenics. Never mind that it’s always the “other” that has to go. Never mind that it’s always the disabled / differently abled that have to justify their existence. The fact remains, there’s enough for everyone. Let’s just focus on how we can live together in harmony.
— December 16, 2023 Note —
Some of the materials herein have made it into my book, No Place for Autism? It was released in February 2023 from Lived Places Publishing and is available at Amazon and other major book retailers worldwide.