Re: Trotsky, Trotskyism and Beyond

[David Walters <dwalters@xxxxxxx>]

I will say that I never like Hansen's position even when I read the pamphlet
30 years ago. We actually had a debate, stunted short by charges of
Malthusianism, in Socialist Action in the 1980s. Rick Mitts wrote a well
researched discussion paper on why the US would be, under socialism, better
off with an optimum population of 60 million instead of 230 million.

He argued along some of the same lines we've discussed here, AND something I
objected to from Hansen's 28 billion argument: sociology. Who the hell would
want to live in a world with that many people? It might seem a basic
argument/question but I agreed, sort of, with Rick. What would this country,
in the US, or the world proportionally, based on socialism world wide, be
like with the current or more advanced technology but on 5 times less the
population?

He used the analogy of Central Park in NY. That the worlds natural areas
would be reduced to urban, managed little oasis's if the population kept
growing, consuming more material, destroying the ecosystem and that
socialists ought to seriously consider family planning to reduce the worlds
populations (democratically, etc, and all that). Do we want world like that?
He was attacked viciously without a chance to reply and that ended the
discussion.

David Walters


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