Do you find social and environmental issues more and more complicated these days? It use to be that if you threw the content of your ashtray out by the passenger window of your car, you were a jerk and that was that, the rest of us were okay citizens. That was back then, before the arrival of the recycling bins. Since then, the jerk pool has considerably expanded. In my neighbourhood we have the garbage bin, the recycling bin, the composting bin, the leaf bags in the fall, the special batteries collection day and the harmful waist collection centre. Yes if you don't take part you're a jerk but if you do, pat yourself in the back for being a good citizen. To be honest, not really. The thing with the environment is that, It's like a big expendable guilt vacuum. You can never do enough, there is always some blame for you to take. Say you own an SUV, a couple of computers, more then one TV sets, you eat strawberries and bananas in the winters and you drink bottled watter don't you? If you do any of these things you're guilty...like the rest of us, no escaping it. The truth is that even hermits and homeless people can't claim to be perfect environmentalists these days. So what to do? Continue on, live with the guilt or give up all together. Social pressures may not allow you to give up all together. What to do then? When all else fails, find a guilty party and blame it all on someone else. Sounds ludicrous. Not if your a Malthusian. Malthusians have actually found a guilty party and a ready made solutions. Ready for it. Read on...

Thomas Malthus: British economist who wrote An Essay on the Principle of Population (1798), arguing that population tends to increase faster than food supply, with inevitably disastrous results, unless the increase in population is checked by moral restraints or by war, famine, and disease.

Still not clear on what Malthusianism is. Not to worry, it also took me a while to rap my head around the concept. In short Malthusians believe that the root of our problems is people. The more people, the less resources. Get rid of the excess people and the resources will become plentiful again. Common sense isn't!  This according to Thomas Malthus is an unavoidable turn of events. Sooner or later a catastrophe is bound to happen and order will naturally be restored. You might have heard of the Gaia mythology, a somewhat related principal. Mother earth rebels against its inhabitants, decimates enough of them to heal herself.

Why does that idea ring so familiar? You might have never heard of the Malthusians before, yet the concept almost sounds like old news to you. It is old news actually. It's been creeping up on our psyche through movie block busters for years. Think of I am legend , 28 days later or the latest incarnation of the gaia mythology The Happening. Other than their success at the box office, these movies have one thing in common. Time and time again the same story. Big devastating crisis occurs unexpectedly, no time to bury the dead, millions of people are gone. The earth will never be the same again. Feel the sense of peace, collective freedom and understanding, roll the credits.... the end. Beautiful isn't? Only if you survive, don't have post traumatic stress, and end up with the sexy mate. For the rest of us it's actually quite scary.

Luckily for us the Hollywood version of things will probably never come to fruition. What should be of concern however is that people everywhere are seriously considering the concept of mass elimination as a viable means to better the plight of our planet. When I say people I don't mean you and me of course, you probably won't hear about Neo-Malthusianism from your next door neighbour. By people I mean respected scholars, insanely rich and influential heads of corporations as well as big think thanks. People more like prince Phillip and crown prince Chales of Brittain. Prince Philip was quoted saying :

"In the event that I am reincarnated, I would like to return as a deadly virus, in order to contribute something to solve overpopulation."

You might know the Club of Rome, for it's non profit activism in the field of environmental development and protection. Well meet the same Club of Rome, well known supporter of the Malthusian theory.

Too big to believe! Have a look at these entries.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Club_of_Rome.

http://www.larouchepub.com/other/2008/3517gore_brit_malthusian.html

http://www.energybulletin.net/node/44373

Really, why is this a problem? Isn't it unavoidable anyways. If the planet wants to rebel and unleash hell upon all of us, what can we do? The bible says something like that is coming up and really, we might even deserve it. If you follow my thinking some might deserve it more than others or at least they might get more than their share. Notice how Thomas Malthus was an economist. Yes the ugly world economy again. My guess is that Prince Charles and Camilla won't be the first in line when the deadly virus comes out. Bird flu vaccination in short supply? Dignitaries first, that's the rule . Oh... you live in a slump somewhere in Botswana, Peru, China, India, no luck buddy. Your use to suffering aren't you? Just ride this one out, it might be quick. If you're an average Joe living in America somewhere, get your wallet ready and be patient,  the Gates and the Rockefeller have a couple of friends in line before you.

Sounds like a crazy scenario, maybe but no more crazy than what Hollywood can come up with. What's more crazy is the fact that people are cold heartedly welcoming such an eventuality as a means to clean up the earth. When did the earth become more important than it's inhabitants? When did the global economy become more important than the global wealth? How come we rather plan for the destruction of millions of lives rather than destroy our economically unsustainable ways.

Sadly, because the planners are not likely to be the victims.