REPLY Limits to Growth Plan B (SD7055)

[SDMAIL Roy Greenhalgh]

Posted by  Roy Greenhalgh <rgreenh at attglobal.net>

Khalid wrote "Population, in turn, creates workforce that increases 
production capacity."

Two comments here.

Modern production methods are more and more designed to remove the 
expensive human from the process.  The number of men needed to produce 
the new model of the Toyota Hilux 4-wheel drive is less than the old 
model.  Automation has filled the space.

Secondly, what is popularly called "the 3^rd  world" has increasing 
rates of human fertilisation.  Zambia’s population growth, for example - 
ranked 134 in the UN’s rating of poor countries, is 3%, taking its 1964 
population of 3.3 million to over 11.6 million in 2007.  This rate of 
increase far exceeds Zambia’s ability to create jobs.  I suspect this is 
true of most of the South.

Increased population is no longer producing a workforce that increases 
production capacity: production doesn’t need that population anymore.  
It is instead increasing poverty, an oddly named "positive" feedback.


Roy Greenhalgh
Posted by  Roy Greenhalgh <rgreenh at attglobal.net>
posting date  Sat, 24 May 2008 13:22:27 +0100