“In effect, diagnosed political problems as pathologies that had a biological basis. Rather, it reflects a highly conservative social outlook that treats other people as the biggest problem. He emphasises that population control has never been a global conspiracy. “They could be ruthless and manipulative in ways that were, and are, shocking.”
Matthew Connelly’s exhaustively researched history on the population control movement, Fatal Misconception, describes what happens when powerful, influential groups decide other groups of people are “excess.” “This is a story of how some people have tried to control others without having to answer to anyone,” Connelly says. But population control has a dark past, which must be taken into account by everyone who wants to put forward solutions to the ecological crisis. In these debates, few populationists care to reflect thoroughly on the history of population control. They say population control schemes are not only ineffective but inevitably treat the victims of social and economic injustice as obstacles to a sustainable society. In response, other environmentalists say a focus on population is a dangerous diversion from the urgent need to transition to a zero-carbon economy and keep all remaining fossil fuels in the ground. The fact that, unlike greenhouse gas emissions, population growth is slowing worldwide (the UN projects world population growth will peak by 2050) does not seem to sway the hardcore populationist lobby. Controlling population is equated with the very survival of humanity. The simple idea is that fewer people will mean less greenhouse gas emissions. However, most supporters say population control is a kindness – a benevolent measure that can lift people out of poverty, hunger and underdevelopment.Ĭutting population has been put forward by some as a key measure to address ecological decay and prevent runaway climate change. The highest birth rates are in the very poorest nations. More than 90% of projected population growth in the 21st century will occur in the global South. The brutal fact is that a policy of controlling global population means controlling the poverty stricken – whether the policy be concerned with fertility or migration.
Yet it was far from the first time that the “born to rule” had sought to make rules about who could be born. The London Sunday Times said they discussed a plan to tackle overpopulation, something they considered “a potentially disastrous environmental, social and industrial threat.” The self-styled “Good Group” included Microsoft founder Bill Gates, media mogul Ted Turner, David Rockefeller Jr and financiers George Soros and Warren Buffet. The nightmare was other people – lots of other people. Their worst nightmare wasn’t the imminent danger of runaway climate change, the burgeoning levels of hunger worldwide or the spread of weapons of mass destruction. A select group of billionaires met in semi-secrecy in May 2009 to find answers to a “nightmarish” concern.
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