Preview of the first 4 pages of ‘Concrete: The Human Dilemma’
The first issue of ‘Concrete: The Human Dilemma’ throws out an idea thats a new one on me. In the story, a businessman wants to hire Concrete as a spokesman for his foundation. Here’s what he says about it to Concrete:
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SAGEMAN: Its mission is to stem the population explosion. That’s a cause I know you’ve embraced in the past. We provide contraceptives and education to women in poor countries – the conventional stuff of which there’s never enough.
SAGEMAN (cont.): But I want to make an impact in this country, too, where each child has a sevenfold impact on consumption. I want to change norms. I want childlessness to become acceptable, even chic.
SAGEMAN (cont.): The foundation will pay young couples to choose education, careers, and good works over childbearing. To receive the entirety of payments, they must be sterilized, graduate from college, and even agree never to adopt.
CONCRETE: Huh!
SAGEMAN: Yes. We’re not dancing in the posies here. The point is, a meaningful and fulfilling life can be made in defiance of the human drive to perpetuae one’s genotype. They’ll be role models. I hope to start a trend.
——
Interesting stuff.
Are we still worried about overpopulation? I didn’t think that was such a problem. If I recall correctly, in developed nations reproduction is currently below replacement level (which is two children for each person). This is why we’ve got an aging population in most developed countries. The problem isn’t overpopulation, but resource management, at least as far as I’m aware.
That said, I think there’s a lot of merit (from an ecological point of view) in limiting human population. Finding ways and means for this that do not injure our collective humanity isn’t easy, though.
The most fascinating thing about this proposal is the way it’s framing its action in terms of a culture hijacking. Sageman hopes to make sterility cool.
I have a bunch more ideas loosely connected to the issues raised here. But I’m not gonna write about them now. Instead I’m going to say: buy this comic. It’s six monthly issues, the first one is out now, and it’s going to be all good.
Not sold? Okay: there’s also boobies. And a three-legged dog. Now go to your local comics shop and buy it.
I like the idea of wiping out those susceptible to cultural hipness as much as the next fellow, but I don’t think that demographic is in any danger from this approach. This is more likely to recruit people who need the money, and poor people don’t tend to be trendsetters.
You’d need a sneakier hook, one that would get people ridiculed rather than sympathised with if they wriggled off it.
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As far as overpopulation goes – it’s a popular 70s sci-fi theme, but you’r right, the first world is in no danger. There’s a popular idea that all we need to do is to make the rest of the world rich, and it’ll undergo a population inversion too – but that seems to contain the hidden assumption that this is a global phenomenon, rather than something specific to Western culture. (This may even be a *correct* assumption – but it doesn’t seem *obviously* correct.)
As far as I am aware, population correlates with available power per household. As power used per household increases, reproduction decreases. This is one of the reasons why Buckminster Fuller regarded a global energy grid as the world’s highest priority. A GEG would link all energy grids in the world into one mutually supporting system, drastically reducing costs all over.
Overpopulation of the planet is still a danger. Sure, the population slowdown may occur as the global population becomes more urban and rich (a big assumption in itself). But it may not slow down fast enough. Which means not enough space to grow food and rather significant problems for the poorer part of the species.
Also, there’s the possible effects of climate change, which are likely (as I understand things) to adversely affect agriculture.
Huh? You want a *solution*? Settle space.
Any chance of a borrow of this from you? Or indeed can you point me to my local comics’ store? Feel a bit like those comic virgins who go to the Comice Store Guy in the Simpsons and get ridiculed, but really want to read this one! thanks T
Interesting, I didnt know concrete was still going… nice insights, now keen for a game of ball?
Interesting – lots of problems with this idea though, especially an en masse move to it and its requirement that economic growth amongst such a population would need to be retarded. It is hard to think that sterility is/was cool when in your later years your whole community suffers recession due to no one being available to drive the economy.