Kai Becker wrote:
>
> Am Mittwoch, 26. Dezember 2001 06:37 schrieb J. R. Molloy:
> > Competition due to
> > overcrowding exacerbates conflict, in a neighborhood, state country or
> > region. One person's gain is another's loss. Given one pie--be it finite
> > natural resources or available full-time jobs--adding additional
> > consumers must be at the expense of others.
>
> Isn't this statement in contradiction to the assumption that improved
> technology will provide more pie - pardon, resources - for all? I believe
> that history has shown that this is possible, but only if we use technology
> wisely with the profit for all in mind.
It is not in contradiction, it simply models on the assumption that the
changes in population pondered are in excess of the ability of
technological changes to mitigate for.
>
> The "limited resources theory" does not explain the higher rates of violent
> crimes in the US compared to countries with the same standard of living
> (Europe, Japan, Australia) - unless you propose that Americans "need"
> significantly more resources than others (cf. population density,
> pollution, etc.).
>
> IMO, the ideology of limited resources we have to fight about is only good
> for extremists (left or right) who prefer to steal from others, instead of
> exploring new opportunities.
Not necessarily. If population changes exceed technological changes,
then conditions of scarcity are imposed.
The claims made by Meadows, Capra, et al about Americans allegedly
'consuming' greater resources is highly inaccurate. If such a disparity
existed, it would be reflected in trade patterns. The models used by
such people are highly erroneous.
The largest error is that of land use. The US has a rather low
population density, of around 27 people per square mile or some such.
The 'American's Use More Resources than Anybody' myth is based largely
on this fact of low density, in that it assumes that a) all of the land
in the US is being used by all Americans (when, in fact, over 1/3 of the
land here is restricted to no use or limited use), that b) any given
acre has an equivalent resource 'value' as any other acre, here or in
other countries, and that c) the information provided by other
governments is to be treated as accurate (when in fact we know that few
governments ever tell the truth about their countries, the spread of
AIDS in Africa being a case in point).
Other errors used in these myths: they assume that all resources used
are used solely to the benefit of Americans, that the US does not
export, and that no US residents send money overseas to family or for
charitable use.
This archive was generated by hypermail 2b30 : Sat May 11 2002 - 17:44:31 MDT