A photo from open sources
Who would have thought that the 21st century would begin with global political upheavals, crises, epidemics. It’s just right to talk about that our civilization is not moving toward a brighter future, but toward the edge death. It’s as if terrorists of all stripes have broken the chain, one local war replaces another.
Many analysts believe that most of the turmoil is associated with such a thing as the “golden billion”. In fact, this separation the world’s population in the first and second grades in order to maintain comfortable minority living conditions.
Medieval wildness
The fact that the world’s vital resources are finite, was thought back in Ancient Rome. “We are burdening the world, its wealth is barely enough, to support our existence. As they increase our needs are growing and grumbling that nature is no longer able provide us with food, “complained the Christian theologian and writer Tertullian 1800 years ago.
The demographer and economist Thomas Malthus at the end of the 18th century came to the conclusion that the uncontrolled reproduction of the human race will lead to famine on Earth. He reasoned that humanity is growing in geometric progression, and the extraction of resources necessary for life – in arithmetic. Malthus’s further conclusions otherwise, like medieval savagery, you will not name.
Countries by Human Development Index: dark blue – more developed, light blue – less
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The venerable scientist believed that uncontrolled breeding could be stopped, first of all, natural for humanity reasons. For example, epidemics, famine, wars, social restrictions. And after that – subjective reasons, “man-made.” Including birth control and enlightenment.
Malthus was guided in his calculations by formal logic. The ability of mankind to reproduce itself is endless. Resources life support is finite. So people sooner or later will breed to such an extent that even the most worthy enough worldly goods. Thus, the reproduction of human kind of need to limit.
And at the same time, tens of thousands are consumed annually by wars soldiers and civilians, epidemics regularly mow down the people, not parsing ranks and titles, hunger takes the lives of hundreds of thousands, if not millions. It’s more likely that people can defend themselves from these misfortunes educated and wealthy, which means worthy. The conclusion is simple: let everyone is at war with everyone, but about charity, development public medicine and other humanism must be forgotten.
Malthus’s conclusions did not take into account the mass of factors playing serious role in modern economics and demography but turned out unusually tenacious. Even Charles Darwin was fond of his ideas, not to mention Karl Haushofer, the ideologist of Nazi theory “living space”. Often use the postulates of Malthus and his modern followers. For example, such a thesis is in use.
Fertility in underdeveloped countries is high, as in agricultural, and mortality is low, as in industrial ones, due to medical care more developed countries. The conclusion follows: to deprive of help underdeveloped countries, so that the share of the more developed remains more resources.
Containment strategy
At the end of the 20th century, the so-called developed countries consumed 85% resources. It mainly concerned energy carriers, metals, other raw materials. Moreover, their population was hardly the seventh part of the world. And again, make a note: here is not the USSR, the countries of the Warsaw block, China, India and some others.
After the first energy crisis in human history 1973 Neo-Malthusians, focusing on the report of the UN Commission, coined the term “golden billion”. According to this report, Earth’s resources should have been enough to maintain an acceptable Western standards of living for just a billion people (already then the number of inhabitants of our planet exceeded this figure by four times).
A photo from open sources
At first this term was used in discussions about ecology, macroeconomics, demography and migration policy. Sometimes slipping publications highlighting size issues assistance to underdeveloped countries. But few people use applied reasoning. interested in. The minds of big politicians completely seized a strategy to contain most of the world’s population by a minority.
Pros and cons
Soviet scientists, justifying the advantages of communist development paths, as if foreseeing the achievements of mankind, which formed the basis of criticism of Malthusianism. Have been proven renewability of agricultural resources, a sharp increase in the identification of proven mineral deposits and increased efficiency production through the use of energy-intensive technologies. All this with now successfully used in countries of that same “golden billion. ”
It’s time to tell that this is the USA, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, EU countries, Israel, Japan, South Korea and Argentina. Even prosperous Switzerland falls into one group with Russia, most of South America and some of the most developed Asian and African countries – in the category of “second grade” in terms of the appropriateness of maintaining a human resource in them.
There is also the category of “dvoechnik” living, according to Neo-Malthusians, due to developed countries: China, India, Indonesia, Bolivia, Paraguay, part of Africa. By the way, the first three powers are included the four most populous in the world. Most of Africa and some Asian countries do not exist for these theorists – these territories are not suitable even as raw materials appendage.
Surprisingly, there are places on our planet where people, from the point view of the “billionaires” is not supposed to live at all. This is Somalia Uganda, Rwanda, Burundi, Chad, Greenland and the Faroe Islands. Two the latter territories, by the way, belong to the country of “first grade” – Denmark.
In the USSR, such exercises were called “neocolonialism.” Russia for this, she inherited the status of a raw materials appendage. Need clearly understand that the concept of “golden billion” does not mean unity of the white race, as it seemed twenty years ago. This is a category economic and geopolitical.
All means are good
Opponents of Neo-Malthusians accuse opponents of deceit and manipulating public opinion. This whole legend about the “gold billion “they need as a rationale for selfish behavior most developed countries. They are for the sake of maintaining a high level. consumption, growth and quality of life ready by any means to keep in a less developed state rest.
The Golden Billion Theory is a propaganda tool. She designed to explain any misfortunes of the rest of the world: from lack drinking water before the Ebola epidemic. There are funds and political. These include various regional and transcontinental alliances of successful and wealthy countries influencing on the rest, all sorts of sanctions and blacklists.
Then economic leverage comes into play. For example, just with Russia has now faced such tricks. And if they don’t help the above funds, then the “billionaires” without much thought take up arms.
This has to be done more and more often, because thanks to the development information technology people in underdeveloped countries learn about how they live in the countries of the “golden billion”, and has the opportunity compare. Naturally, the desire to exist as a raw material an appendage, a place of storage of toxic waste and a cheap source no one has a manpower.
A ranting that the rest of the world provide conditions similar to those of the “billion” countries impossible, cause a backlash. It manifests itself in terrorist attacks September 11, North Korea’s aggressive policy, Iran’s nuclear program, the actions of the militants of the Islamic State. Population underdeveloped countries do not want to remain “second grade”, having the lion’s share of natural resources.
A photo from open sources
A photo from open sources
Cracks at the seams
Meanwhile, the theory of the “golden billion” begins to burst at the seams and from a scientific point of view. She, for example, does not take into account the theory demographic transition. According to her, the transition from traditional society to industrial (the first is characteristic of the so-called underdeveloped countries, and the second is just for the “golden billion”) accompanied by a sharp drop in mortality and fertility, in resulting in the reproduction of human resources is reduced to simple substitution of generations.
This leads to stabilization of population growth. Actually according to the theory of Malthus and his followers, it is this part earthlings and deserves a better fate. And the rest must be preserved in an underdeveloped state.
However, Neo-Malthusians turn a blind eye to the fact that China, Russia, almost all completed the demographic transition Latin America, Iran, Turkey and a number of Arab states. But the population of these countries to the “golden billion” no one going to. As well as abandoning the basic postulate of the theory Malthus, according to which humanity grows geometrically progression.
And if you share?
Indeed, from 1900 to 2011, the world’s population grew from 1.6 up to 7 billion. But at the moment, growth has slowed: more than 46% people live in countries that have completed the demographic transition. Moreover, in a number of countries (primarily in Western Europe) the stage at which stabilization of the population is replaced decline.
Modern scholars not preoccupied with propagating the Golden Theory billion, “it is believed that the world’s population will stop growth at around 14 billion, and by 2100 it will begin to decline completely. Wherein the “bearing capacity” of our planet is 16-18 billion people.
But for now, refuse to divide humanity into two grades apologists for the theory of the “golden billion” are not going to. They are much it’s more convenient to defend your superiority with medieval wildness than to share material wealth and knowledge.
Boris SHAROV
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