A new future

The bottom line is that capitalism is responsible for all the miseries linked with poverty. The truth is that capitalism to-day is an anti-social society and produces anti-social ideas. Many in environmentalist groups are concerned about overpopulation. Is the world overpopulated? The Socialist Party is convinced there is good evidence to the contrary. The greens view this 'problem' through a capitalist lens. Overpopulation diverts attention away from the true cause of their problems, capitalism, shifting the blame from an economic base to a biological and sexual one. It is always a necessity for the ruling class of any era to find a scapegoat, and  “overpopulation" serves the same use as racism, opposing immigration, or "lazy" workers. Different times are conducive to different lies—just so long as the truth of how capitalism really functions is never learned. “Too many people” is a red herring when it focuses attention on the population as a cause unto itself, and ignores the limitations and restrictions that are inherent within capitalism, and result in food supplies being determined and conditioned by a market economy. If socialism would have been researched by the workers with as much diligence as has been displayed in the pursuit and relentless quest for new and improved birth control methods our movement would have greatly benefited. 

 Should human beings increase geometrically and indefinitely, a time would arrive when the food supply would be unable to sustain a population that had grown to numerical infinity. But this is a completely false hypothesis. There are no biological or natural laws that explain population growths. History will show that increases in population have not taken place with any formula of mathematical progression but, on the contrary, have varied from time to time, and the fluctuations are related to social, economic and material conditions. Population growths, therefore, cannot be regarded in a vacuum as a separate entity, operating automatically, independent of the dynamics of society.  The term "overpopulation" in itself has no meaning or social significance unless it is related to specific conditions and has an applicable framework of reference. As far as food supplies are concerned, there is no over-population problem relative to society's capacity for producing an overabundance either today or within the foreseeable future. The resources of the earth have never been fully utilised.  There are many large areas in Africa and elsewhere that are still virgin lands awaiting development that possess the potential for sustaining millions.

We have long been familiar with the argument that poverty is due to over-population, and that if the workers would only decrease the size of their families they would all be better off. Poverty and deprivation are of course not caused by so-called "overpopulation".  The miserable conditions produced by abject poverty give rise to overcrowding, lack of sanitation, and an apathetic attitude born of despair and hopelessness. Add to this a lack of education and malnutrition and human beings become incapable of properly organising their personal lives even on an elementary basis. If all these impoverished and destitute humans became child-less and sterile overnight their misery would still persist, because they are propertyless, have no work, and have little or no access to food, clothing, and shelter. To blame their ·plight on "overpopulation", in a society capable of producing untold wealth and abundance, is to add an insult to injury.