Out of nothing more than curiosity, I plugged the above two words into Google, and found an interesting little article, which suggested that the over-burgeoning populations are the true cause of recent wars. It went on to discuss how religious, economic, and social factors are only really the supporting cast, and I perceive there may be quite a bit of truth to what they author is saying.
Scarce water and food resources, jealousy over neighboring country’s degree of prosperity, the role of the church in the decision of contraception, and the social status of women, all play a key role in determining the ability of any particular government to suppress violent dissidence and maintain order. The most substantial evidence provided for this, was that of the wars in Rwanda. Today the wars still rage in Africa, hand in hand with malnutrition, starvation, rampant disease, and a whole host of other population related situations. Indeed, many of the African nations involved in ongoing conflict are not very far from this first outburst, specifically Somalia, and Sudan. Uganda, Kenya, Burundi, and Ethiopia also have had, or continue to have their share of troubles, all of which can be tied back to population.
Pointing out the obvious problem is easy enough though. Closing out the article, the author makes an interesting observation on how we might begin to correct the problem. The only change that I would make to the observation would be to include other ‘First World’ countries in the evaluation and not just single out the US as the lone perpetrator. While it is likely very true that the US spends $450 billion on promote foreign arms sales, especially to these countries, I feel confident that most of the countries in the EU, as well as Russia and China are likely as equal partners, if not more vested in the issue, considering their geographic proximity.
- John M. Swomley . War and the Population Explosion: Some Ethical Implications. The Center for Research on Population and Security. http://www.population-security.org/swom-98-06b.htm
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