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Population, Evolution and Birth Control: A College of Controversial Ideas
Collection of readings examining all aspects of human life on earth from early biblical selections to modern news reports
402 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1969
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About the author
Garrett Hardin
49 books62 followersGarrett James Hardin was a leading and controversial ecologist from Dallas, Texas, who was most well known for his 1968 paper, The Tragedy of the Commons. He is also known for Hardin's First Law of Ecology, which states "You cannot do only one thing", and used the familiar phrase "Nice guys finish last" to sum up the "selfish gene" concept of life and evolution.
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April 9, 2023
This "collage of controversial ideas assembled by Garrett Hardin" contains only a few entries by Hardin himself and most of them are reprints (I counted 26 chapters- out of 123- attributed to him, few of which are in the sans serif font signalling original material.)
Think of this book, therefore, as Hardin letting you peak into his file cabinet and showing you his sources, from Darwin and Malthus (and even Tertullian and Thomas More) to the latest (pre-1964) scientific study. To show you how useful that is, the reprint of his seminal article on the Tragedy of the Commons has 21 bibliographical references, five of which you will have read by the time you reach that final chapter.
Though the book is divided into three sections corresponding to the three topics listed in the title, only 45 pages (out of 380) are devoted to evolution, which means that the bulk of the volume actually deals with Hardin's main concern: overpopulation and the (mostly unpalatable but anavoidable) ways of dealing with it.
One thing I particularly liked about the selection is that Hardin does not just share authors that bang the same drum as he does. For instance, there is a very articulate eight-page article by a Jesuit ethicist making a good case against abortion (which Hardin vehemently defends, in the name of opposing "mandatory motherhood") and Hardin introduces one Catholic defender of the right to life as "a master of clear exposition", showing that he was not the kind of person who called anyone who disagreed with him an idiot (a virtue that has become very rare.)
Hardin is having a profound effect on my own ethical thought, and I somehow resent him for that. I used to be a decent person with compassionate moral principles, but he has virtually convinced me that we should keep immigrants out, let foreigners starve and use compulsion to prevent women from having as many children as they want (if they want more than is reasonable, which is usually the case.) Anyone with such ideas is bound to be hated by both the left and the right, and any kind-hearted human being with little foresight or ability for systemic thought.
Think of this book, therefore, as Hardin letting you peak into his file cabinet and showing you his sources, from Darwin and Malthus (and even Tertullian and Thomas More) to the latest (pre-1964) scientific study. To show you how useful that is, the reprint of his seminal article on the Tragedy of the Commons has 21 bibliographical references, five of which you will have read by the time you reach that final chapter.
Though the book is divided into three sections corresponding to the three topics listed in the title, only 45 pages (out of 380) are devoted to evolution, which means that the bulk of the volume actually deals with Hardin's main concern: overpopulation and the (mostly unpalatable but anavoidable) ways of dealing with it.
One thing I particularly liked about the selection is that Hardin does not just share authors that bang the same drum as he does. For instance, there is a very articulate eight-page article by a Jesuit ethicist making a good case against abortion (which Hardin vehemently defends, in the name of opposing "mandatory motherhood") and Hardin introduces one Catholic defender of the right to life as "a master of clear exposition", showing that he was not the kind of person who called anyone who disagreed with him an idiot (a virtue that has become very rare.)
Hardin is having a profound effect on my own ethical thought, and I somehow resent him for that. I used to be a decent person with compassionate moral principles, but he has virtually convinced me that we should keep immigrants out, let foreigners starve and use compulsion to prevent women from having as many children as they want (if they want more than is reasonable, which is usually the case.) Anyone with such ideas is bound to be hated by both the left and the right, and any kind-hearted human being with little foresight or ability for systemic thought.
Displaying 1 of 1 review