another perspective DEBATE: POPULATION PHOKI ELECTIFAL LORBY Population: KATHY LOWE: Ecosocialists need not be squeamish about population issues. Looking at population policies as part of the struggle for a just and environmentally sustainable alternative to capitalism makes sense.
Certainly population control arguments have been used by right wingers citing concern for the environment and a number of countries have abused human rights by using coercion to curb population growth. However that doesn't mean population levels are not a factor in exacerbating environmental degradation and that they don't run the risk of undermining sustainability efforts.
The left often appears reluctant to broach this, presumably because population is growing fastest in the poorest countries and we don't want to be seen to be "unfairly targeting" the poorest women in those countries. But we are concerned with solidarity, not blame-solidarity with the most oppressed.
According to UN figures world population now stands at 6.8 billion with a further predicted rise to 9.1 billion by 2050. Maybe a sustainable and equitable alternative to capitalism could, as some environmental activists suggest, support another three billion people. Yet the planet's resources are rapidly diminishing and ecological devastation is facing us right now.
What is wrong with supporting non-coercive policies worldwide aimed at reducing population growth as long as the policies encompass health care, education and reproductive rights? And what is wrong with these policies running alongside policies to eliminate poverty and combat climate change? There would then be less pressure on global resources and it would be easier for a future socialist
LYCEUMIL MILK BAR-SANDWICHE LOWOMEN'S LIBERATION? society to clean up the mess, develop renewable, lowemission, low tech alternatives and offer all people a reasonable standard of living.
At present, of course, the ruling class in all countries is the main benefactor of rampant capitalist enterprise that exploits the poor and destroys the planet. So for organisations anywhere to focus on population policies without also calling for a massive redistribution of wealth and resources from rich to poor is liberalism at best and reactionary at worst.
Some activists, while correctly stressing that the richest countries produce, consume and pollute on by far the largest scale, fall into the trap of advocating a "hands off" stance towards the poorest countries where population and environment policies are concerned
Clearly population growth in already destitute
15 WLM march in Sydney, Australia, 1980 communities fighting to survive can take its toll both on them and their environment. And population growth takes a terrible toll on women's health, turning them into child-bearing machines.
Overcoming poverty is a prerequisite of any attempts to support women in making choices about family size. But even when their living standards are improved, high rates of infant mortality addressed and access gained to health care and education opportunities they still have to fight to exercise their reproductive rights. They have to contend with male family members, community leaders and institutions who, for status, religious or "cultural" reasons oppose contraception and abortion and insist on keeping women in a subordinate role. That is why population is a feminist issue.
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Fourth International calls Cochabamba conference 16 In a statement issued at its World Congress, the Fourth International said it: • Denounces the caricature of an agreement that 25 major polluting countries reached on the sidelines of the Copenhagen climate summit; the agreement sets aside the principle of common but differentiated responsibilities. They seek to impose this agreement on the peoples of the world; it is tailor made for the interests of big capital and capitalist appropriation of for support for resources. It represents a grave threat for the workers of the world, for the poor, for peasants, women and indigenous peoples, as well as for ecosystems; • Celebrates the initiative taken by Bolivian president Evo Morales to hold a peoples' summit on climate and the rights of Mother Earth in order to make the voices of indigenous peoples heard; and to develop a common response to the imperialist policy of dividing up the world and the atmosphere between the big powers. We call on all political and social forces in struggle against exploitation and oppression to support the Cochabamba gathering and participate as far as possible; • Salutes those communities who defend the ecosystems they developed and struggle for their rights, way of life, and methods of collective appropriation that respect the environment. In so doing, they have become a driving force in the climate movement and oppose the capitalist logic of neoliberal commodification of resources. They are a source of inspiration for the creation of a new relationship between society and nature;