by linlithgowoil » Wed 27 Jul 2005, 06:43:16
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Lin, you are confusing two concepts. There is a difference between killing people and preventing them from even being born. I think most of us want to reduce birth rates to ultimately reduce death rates. Your vision will create more death than my vision. You seem heavily indoctrinated into the concept of growth, but that concept is dead. We have to come into equilibrium with our environment. The room for growth is over.
Not everyone decides not to have children for selfish reasons. I decided not to pursue breeding not so that I can consume more for my own benefit. I chose it so that I could reduce consumption across the board. I am trying to power down. If I have children, they will require fossil fuels in various direct and indirect ways and make the dieoff problem worse when it finally arrives. I don't want my children to be part of the dieoff. How could you say you don't trust me just because I don't want my children to be subject to dark ages-like slavery and starvation? How could anyone of morals want children to go through that?
And Lin, you said nothing about the destruction to the planet. Civilization is displacing animals and causing mass extinctions, and climate change for the worse. Your ideals are so short-sighted, that you would rather have children today than a better world for future generations.
The problem, of course, with preventing people being born is that you may be preventing people being born who would have gone on to be the greatest scientist, doctor, engineer, etc. etc. ever. I imagine people with your viewpoint, if the technology was available, would have taken one look at, say, Stephen hawkings DNA and thought – 'hmm, he's going to be paralysed and have a poor quality of life, lets just murder him in the womb and save him some suffering'. Remember, some of the most brilliant people in history have had some sort of disability, and I imagine with all these birth control policies you want, the disabled would be one of your first targets for 'prevention of life' (i.e. murder in the womb), because they take up many resources and don’t contribute to society. And anyway, who is to say what quality of life is?
I do not understand how you can put the needs of future generations 100 years hence above the needs of the current generation – based on theories of collapse and possible scenarios that might not even happen. I also don’t understand why you even care, given that your DNA has been selected for termination by your own hand – which fascinates me. You now have zero stake in the future of mankind, so I don’t know why you even care. Please let me know why it is important to you that total strangers on the other side of the world are not hungry in 200 years time?
Anyway, I have a different viewpoint. I believe things are going to get tougher in the future no matter what happens. It appears that we are at a time in civilization where we have access to the largest energy resources we'll ever have, and it will never be repeated. So, use them while you get them… no? What would you have done if you'd discovered the first oil wells? You'd have done exactly the same thing – look for more and more, and pump it out as fast as you could, whilst greedily accepting cash in return. Everyone would do the same. Its very easy to sit on a high horse with hindsight.
Anyway, is your only goal in life to reduce and prevent suffering? You should remember that people can actually become stronger through suffering, and it can change your life for the better. I know I am stronger having suffered various things throughout my life. We should help people in need and not cause unnecessary suffering, but suffering will always be there, simply because we are mortal and have emotions.
Finally, I think people need to realise that the human race will not last forever – so stop trying to pretend it will and that by reducing petrol consumption by a few percent a year will somehow lead us to a golden age. It wont.