Out of intense complexities, intense simplicities emerge " - W Churchill
First, I truly believe that there is almost no time left to create any long-term sustainable solution for the human predicament. In all likelihood, we have about 30 years left because we know civilization will collapse once we run out of key non-renewable resources (NNRs) and that would likely lead to wars, conflicts, and other horrors in the end-game process. (See Blip Stanford Edu )
But we could also be wiped out before that time due to the consequences of either climate change or ecological destruction. Either one could spell the demise of homo sapiens in short order. Short of global genocide reducing the population by 90% or more - any other form of population or birth control would now be pointless given the terminal diseases noted. We needed to be introducing population and growth control measures 200, or more years ago, before these diseases had a chance to become malignant.
Even if there was enough time, I would not, however, support and endorse violence nor race stratification policies of any form for moral, human, and historic reasons. We had already experienced that these tactics would lead to suppression, tyrannies, and criminal authoritarianism. Not healthy for the virtues of liberty, justice, equality, and democracy. Dangerous and ultimately deadly for all.
There is another approach one could consider that is less offensive and does not jeopardize human rights, social justice, and democracy to the same degree. It is still, however, a drastic measure with moral perils. That approach is the implementation of new taxation on individuals.
SO HOW MANY CHILDREN DO YOU HAVE |
Two new forms of tax could be leveled on both births and new-comers. If we view citizenship as being a right or benefit similar to a business entity's common shareholding, then it could be accorded an economic value that could be fairly and justifiably determined; then charged as a tax when it is acquired by birth or migration. For instance, the net present value of the benefits of a US birth maybe $250,00 for a citizen's birth of their new-comer child, whereas other newcomers by way of foreigner childbirth in the country or an immigrating person would be taxed at a much higher level - say, $500,000.
Why the difference? Because current citizens and their forebears built the country and its inherent economic and social values- they are the invisible and unrecognized shareholders in the country or national enterprise whose past efforts are to be appreciated and monetized by the lower level of tax on their childbirths. The tax meanwhile also reflects the hypothetical future aggregate costs of climate, ecological, resource, and economic footprints over an expected lifespan of 80 years these people - assuming highly optimistic current mortalities would still apply.
However, as mentioned above, such taxes or other plans would be redundant in application because again there is simply not enough time left to resolve the driving overpopulation and economic growth issue nor the climate, ecological, and resource problems they create. Measures probably needed to be taken at the commencement of the Industrial Age - 300 years ago -when the insanity of infinite growth in a finite context should have been mathematically realized -and thus future populations and growth accordingly limited.
Adam Smith plus all subsequent Nobel Prize-winning and classical economists overlooked and ignored this reality and premised economic modeling on the concept of the laissez-faire capitalist's Invisible Hand th
On reflection, Adam Smith's secular book, The Wealth of Nations, has been even more devastating to current human behavior and conditions than the collective dogmatic assertions of all religious writings. It is ironic, however, how in most, either secular or religious, cases these imagined beliefs in supposedly good, invisible, and magical entities have come to cause us so much real universal harm and destruction - these entities somehow seem to represent one of the critical cognitive shortcomings of our species - resulting in poor actions and plans. Is there a lesson here?
And for any plan - it now appears that it is simply just too little, too late.
Be wise, be kind, and think...