From the Institute for Radically Sustainable Malthusian Development

To the Editor:

Regarding your recent issue on the so-called crisis in Sudan, I am astounded at your naïveté. Journalists (to say nothing of philosophers) are distinguished primarily by their love of artifice over and against the truths of nature. Though they claim to speak in the name of humanity, it is precisely the survival of the human race that is jeopardized by their claims. It is evident that the mandarins of New York Inquirer wouldn’t know the difference between David Ricardo and Ricky Ricardo, though they certainly recognize the latter. Thus, I offer two facts and one proposal. Whether my knowledge of nature is natural, or whether nature can be known independent of human nature, I will not address.

The great Malthus makes us aware of two indubitable facts:

First, population increases in a geometrical ratio.

Second, subsistence increases in an arithmetical ratio.

In short, scarcity of resources and the excess of demand for them is an organic truth. Attempts at ameliorating this phenomenon through provision of social services and humanitarian interventions simply make matters worse. Improving mortality rates and life expectancies by meddling with the natural course of disease, war and famine only increases demand for already scarce supplies. The only alternative is to allow nature to create a sustainable balance. And this leads to my proposal to:

Repeal United Nations Resolution 260 , which declares genocide a crime against humanity. Far from being the “odious scourge” the UN claims it to be, genocide is nothing short of a blessing. Following my advice, the US has already taken the lead, followed by the bulk of the world, in largely ignoring this resolution anyway. The New York Inquirer would do well to praise this, for without such prudence, we cannot merely assume, in the battle for human survival, that God will win.

Scarcely yours,

Phil O. Mefaust

Founder and President, Institute for Radically Sustainable Malthusian Development

(Image from flickr.)