Many conspiracy theorists believe genetically modified crops, certain vaccines, bio-weapons, and particular chemicals in the environment are part of a stealth plan by the elite to reduce human fertility and hence reduce population growth. These conspiracies, if true, are certainly important; after all, Thomas Ferguson of the Office of Population affairs stated "The quickest way to reduce population is through famine, like in Africa, or disease, like the Black Death." ¹
However, we would like to point out some less scary forces that lead to a reduction in population, forces that may be hiding in plain sight. The methodology for this article is deductive, that is, it is not focused on amassing evidence per se, but on answering the question: "If I had a lot of power and wanted to reduce the world's population, what sorts of cultural norms would I promote among the people that would lead them to have fewer children?" This article is not meant to take the side of someone of that persuasion, but merely to discover some methods that such a person would use so that he can be stopped.
Before answering this question, some evidence is necessary to prove that at least some people in power are asking it. Consider the following quotes:
"A total population of 250-300 million people, a 95% decline from present levels, would be ideal." -Ted Turner, media mogulA notorious supporter of the failed The Population Act of 1981, Richard Ottinger, makes it very clear that "population stabilization" means zero population growth.¹ Ted Turner and the Georgia Guidestones go even further by setting a number that is less than one tenth of the present human population of the world. Moreover, Ted Turner obviously has power over what airs on CNN and other Turner Broadcasting companies. The Georgia Guide Stones were allegedly created by a powerful person as well. The entire country of China imposed a one-child policy as a means of population control.
"Maintain humanity under 500,000,000 in perpetual balance with nature." -Georgia Guidestones
"The Population Act of 1981 declares it to be the public policy to promote national population stabilization...[and directs] all Federal agencies to use reliable demographic research in planning and decisionmaking which affect national and global population characteristics." ²
Many of these individuals may keep their beliefs secret so they do not jeopardize their business interests or elicit public resistance, so Turner and promoters of the never-passed Population Act of 1981 may be just the tip of the iceberg of de-populationists. So inevitably, there are people in positions of power who want to stop population growth and many still who wish to reduce world population. A question we will leave unanswered is just how many of them exist and how much power they wield. Regardless, what follows are some means they would use to reduce population.
Warfare
Breakdowns like in El Salvador...won't be enough to make a difference in global population growth... But [such breakdowns] could easily degenerate into a hundred Cambodias, where, if they haul off and kill one-third of the population-which would be delightful for the demographers-this is a much more plausible way to affect world population growth. -Harlan Cleveland 1981, former diplomat and US ambassador to NATO³Advocating war in order to reduce population is nothing new. Thomas Malthus was one of the earliest thinkers to suggest war as a means to reduce population. His intentions, however, were not all that sinister considering economic theories prevalent in his day, the early 19th century. Malthus believed that population would increase at a faster rate than food supply. Sooner or later, there would be no food left to sustain population growth.⁴ Malthus must have reasoned that people would be continually starving to death in such a state of affairs, and that the most humane way to deal with it would be to start wars which would clear out the excess hungry bellies, leaving more crop yields left over for the survivors so that they would not have to live in conditions of constant starvation; that is, until their population numbers started rising again.
There were two factors, however, that undermined Malthus's population theory. The primary one was improvement in crop yields, which to this day have kept up with increasing population. Another was new contraception methods. Malthus had correctly assumed that humans would be unable to resist acting out on their passions, but he did not anticipate the development of new contraceptive methods.
Malthus's theory probably wasn't borne out of hatred for humanity, similar to how many people view humans as a "cancer" of the planet today, because another influential thinker of his day, David Ricardo, had a similar theory that labor would always trend toward a subsistence-based level because of certain economic forces. These men lived before the days of powerful unions, efficiency wages, and welfare programs, so if technology and other forces had remained as they were in the early 19th century, Malthus may well have been right.
Today, modern Malthusians forecast that humanity will eventually run out of food. Chief among these is Paul Ehrlich, who has been proven wrong so far, because a population apocalypse has never arrived... yet. The same factors of contraception and advancements in agriculture have, at least for the moment, doomed his theory to be unfulfilled. But there are individuals on the global scene who push for continual war, especially for the US. Might they have population reduction as one of their goals of calling for war?
Women in Combat
It is conceivable, however, that if powerful people believe such a population apocalypse is coming, they may consider warfare as a way to stave it off. One "problem" with modern warfare is that it usually involves only men. Even if the male population were significantly reduced due to warfare, one man could circulate through multiple women, and thus cause almost as many births as if there had been no wars and more men around. It is socially unacceptable among most people to cause civilian casualties, so population reductionists cannot achieve the deaths of women that way. To fix this "problem", they would have to put women into combat. This way, it is guaranteed that there would be less potential for births because there will be fewer women.
Indeed, if a man donates to a sperm bank, he can become the father of hundreds of children only if there are hundreds of women. But if there are hundreds of men and only one woman, there can only be one child. Therefore, it would make sense to have women instead of men go into combat if the war's main goal is the reduction of population. The founders of Mormonism understood that women were more important than men when it comes to multiplying one's numbers, and for this reason they allowed men to have multiple wives. Conversely, the key to reducing population lies in reducing the number of women. The Chinese have done this through abortions of female babies. Assuming some western elites wanted to put women in combat to reduce population, is there any evidence of this happening?
One of the most popular modern singers, Katy Perry, just came out with a music video depicting a young woman who, having her heart broken by a womanizing boyfriend, joins the military. The implication is that she will one day participate in combat, because she engages in combat training in the music video. In recent news, two female army reservists have sued the army claiming discrimination over not being allowed to be in combat.⁵ The news media is all too happy to take their side, but it seems like an all too happy coincidence for those who want population reduction.
Incarceration as a Prophylactic
In combat women can either be killed or maimed to the point where childbearing is impossible. But it often happens that women become pregnant in the military by their lonely male counterparts. An even more sure way of preventing pregnancy would be to confine women to an area where there are no men for the duration of their fertile years. But women commit far fewer violent crimes than men. Therefore, we would expect a population control advocate who wants women to be in jail, away from men, to support laws that put women in jail for as many non-violent offenses as possible since they commit so few violent ones. Chief among these non-violent offenses would be drug violations. Keeping drugs illegal means more women in jail, where they cannot become pregnant. If they can be kept there until they are no longer fertile, then population is effectively prevented from increasing and even reduced. This would also please eugenicists, who probably view the type of women who go to prison as having genes.
Promotion of Homosexuality
For a very long time a concerted minority of liberals and homosexuals have promoted the normality of homosexuality, primarily through entertainment, selective news reporting, and more recently, public education. This minority has blossomed into a slight majority, especially among young people. Population reductionists would be delighted with this cultural development, and would actually have an incentive to promote homosexuality, even to the point of pushing people into becoming homosexuals since such people tend to have fewer children. (Obviously, they are also incapable of engaging in procreative activities with their "partners".) It is a strange sight that elite entertainment figures like Madonna are much more likely to be found kissing a woman and promoting homosexuality than members of a small band playing a gig in a little bar. Much of the push for homosexuality has come form places of prominence and power, including elite ivy league universities, according to David Kupelian in The Marketing of Evil.
One sad story related by a public school teacher involves an instance of pro-homosexual propaganda actually peer-pressuring a young girl into partaking in a lesbian relationship. Although the girl in question frequently told the teacher of her attraction to male classmates, she admitted one day to reluctantly going out with one lesbian student who had asked her out. She said she was afraid that saying no to the lesbian would constitute bigotry, and felt compelled to date her despite having no feelings for her. Nothing could be more pleasing to a population reducer.
Prolonged Educational Requirements
Many people, especially those with graduate degrees, spend so much time in school that, after they finish and finally get their careers started, many are totally infertile or have few years of fertility left. So a population reductionist would certainly push for many, many years of education.
Feminism
All forms of affirmative action for women would certainly please a population reductionist. If women are career-oriented, they will put off having children until they are on firm ground in their careers. But the more concerned they are with their careers, the more they may forget about any dreams of having a family.
Barbie Dolls
In the '50s little girls played house and carried along with them doll-babies, with whom they would perform various motherly duties. Today, they play with Bratz dolls, where the emphasis is not on pretending to be a mother, but rather on fashion styles for the doll. All the Bratz do is party. Barbie had many careers but also a house and Ken as a husband and even a baby. However, even Barbie drew attention away from being a mother. Staying fashionable is expensive and far less affordable if a woman has to raise children, notwithstanding any physical toll bearing children may take.
High School Sports
Sports in high school are great, but when sports become the main thing, they distract a student from real, achievable career goals since most people are not athletic enough to be professional athletes. This sometimes prolongs the career-finding process since the person is too busy with sports in high school. A more distant career often means a longer time until marriage and child-bearing.
Considering all these things, if population reduction promoters can be found among the ranks of people advocating these things, this Population Conspiracy will gain a little more clout. This isn't to say that these phenomena do not have supporters who genuinely believe in feminism, drug prohibition, many wars, idealizing homosexuality, etc. Even a population reductionist might genuinely believe in these things, but we should not forget his other motives.
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Sources
1. "Congressmen plan hearings to impose population control" EIR Volume 8, Number 12, March 24, 1981. Page 55
http://larouchepub.com/eiw/public/1981/eirv08n12-19810324/eirv08n12-19810324_055-congressmen_plan_hearings_to_imp.pdf
2. S. 1771 (97th): Global Resources, Environment, and Population Act of 1981 Introduced: Oct 26, 1981.
http://www.govtrack.us/congress/bills/97/s1771
3. "Harlan Cleveland: 100 'Cambodias'" EIR Volume 8, Number 11, March 17, 1981. Page 53.
http://larouchepub.com/eiw/public/1981/eirv08n11-19810317/eirv08n11-19810317_051-stockmans_global_2000_approach.pdf
4. History of Economic Thought Harry Landreth, David C. Colander - Houghton Mifflin (2002)
5 "Women in Combat" New York Times. June 3, 2012. http://www.nytimes.com/2012/06/04/opinion/women-in-combat.html?_r=1
Special thanks to Br Michael Dimond
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