As we more towards militarism instead of the well being of communities the real issues must be to address population control in every region.Our economy is based on competitive greed and defence needs instead of the needs of the whole community. The economy has been hijacked by the militarists. War never solved any problems all wars did was create more angst and poverty. The poor are used as cannon fodder in armies and the elderly, women and children suffer most.

Make up your mind citizen.

For the last couple of thousand years war has been the most successful method of population control, or have you been too busy to notice?

Yes, population is the MOST important issue.

Major problems:

Firstly, there is an enormous amount of effort going into increasing food supplies in order to keep up with the ever-increasing demand, but scant little effort going into stopping the demand from increasing. Agricultural scientists, genetic engineers and food-producers of all sorts, are all working on the supply side of the equation.

Who’s working on the demand side? Not many people at all.

It is absolutely CRAZY! There’s no sense of balance. There is effectively only a mad pandering to an ever-larger population.

Secondly, governments across the world are in the pockets of big business and all those who want rapid growth for vested-interest profit-driven reasons.

Thirdly, religions and cultural beliefs inhibit the all-important reduction in fertility rates.

Fourthly, there are many blockages that stop people getting the necessary resources and assistance to improve their lives and thus give them the choice to have fewer children.

I can’t see that wars or militarisation have got much to do with. Sure, as we become more resource-stressed, this will come into play. But currently it is well down the list of concerns related to population growth.

oh dear talk about the adgenda
http://cecaust.com.au/main.asp?sub=media&id=/video/cec_wr_special_greenfascism.htm

http://cecaust.com.au/main.asp?sub=media&id=/video/20121116_cec_wr.htm

All very apocalyptic, concerned citizen for good governance, what with all that militarism, greed and such.

But I think I may have (probably much to Ludwig's surprise) an answer to the problem.

Let's make the 21st century the "Chinese Empire" century.

Previous empires have mainly focussed on trade, and the improvement of economies through world trade. Europe, where most of the empire-builders have traditionally been based - Italy, England, Spain, Portugal, Germany, the Netherlands etc. - are well into their post-growth economies. If we can persuade China to colonize Africa, and encourage them to exploit that continent's incredible mineral wealth to fuel both economies, the birth rate will naturally recede, as it has done elsewhere, and we will all avoid disaster.

The problem we have right now is an over-abundance of democracy and cargo-cultism. The imposition of a command-and-control regime on key African countries would first of all ensure that the local despots did not, as they have since the collapse of the previous empire, continue to loot for themselves all the financial benefits. Second, it is in the interests of the empire-builder to have the countries under their control far more self-sufficient than they are at the moment. If the current crop of aid-donors could scale back their assistance, which at the moment is mainly going into the pockets of said despots, everyone will benefit.

It would be a bitter pill for many to swallow, of course, as we have grown accustomed to the idea that dictatorships are inherently and invariably bad. But let's be honest: they did achieve quite a lot while they were in vogue. Well, with some notable exceptions, of course...

The reality is that no federation of democratic nations, however well meaning, could get the job done at all efficiently. They would end up like the European Union, nothing more than a bureaucratic talk-fest.

I think I will recommend this to Xi Jinping and his Politburo. Does anyone have their phone number?

concerned,

Yes, population control should be a major concern, let's concentrate on Australia before considering other regions. I'd agree with Ludwig's comments, there's little or no economic advantages in increasing our population at such a high rate and probably no economic or social advantages in increasing the population at all. Many nations with smaller populations have superior social and economic indicators, the fantasy of a high growth rate is mainly promoted by vested interests who have managed to capture politicians' imaginations.

"War never solved any problems"- well yes it has, how else could democratic societies have resisted the Nazis or the Japanese militarists 70 years ago or Europe the Moslem attacks of earlier periods in history.

Militarism is an entirely separate issue.