Children, economics, faith, and the problem of underpopulation

Friday, June 12th, 2015

In a recent mini-documentary, the New York Times investigates the unrealized horrors of population explosion, especially those predicted by Paul Ehrlich in his 1968 book, The Population Bomb.

Despite the failure of his forecast, Ehrlich remains undaunted. “The end is still nigh,” he says according to the Times, and population control ought to be implemented, “preferably through voluntary methods.”

But, Ehrlich continues, allowing women to choose to have as many children as they desire is like allowing everyone to “throw as much of their garbage into their neighbor’s backyard as they want.”

In our view, Ehrlich fundamentally misunderstands the value of human life, the actual population threat facing the earth, and what can be done to stop it.

Scrooge, Malthus, and Ehrlich

In the first chapter of Dickens’s classic A Christmas Carol, we are introduced to the unforgettable Ebenezer Scrooge, a dismal miser who loathes Christmas. In one of a series of interactions proving his bitterness, Scrooge is solicited for a charitable donation:

“A few of us are endeavoring to raise a fund to buy the Poor some meat and drink, and means of warmth. We choose this time, because it is a time, of all others, when Want is keenly felt, and Abundance rejoices. What shall I put you down for?’”

“Nothing!’” Scrooge replied.

“You wish to be anonymous?’”

“I wish to be left alone,” said Scrooge. “Since you ask me what I wish, gentlemen, that is my answer. I don’t make merry myself at Christmas and I can’t afford to make idle people merry. I help to support the establishments I have mentioned: they cost enough: and those who are badly off must go there.”

“Many can’t go there; and many would rather die.”

“If they would rather die,” said Scrooge, “they had better do it, and decrease the surplus population.” Continue reading

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