Comments on: Civilization survives if women have equal rights http://www.futurity.org/society-culture/civilization-survives-if-women-have-equal-rights/ Research news from leading universities Mon, 20 May 2013 18:23:13 +0000 hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.0.4 By: Chris Madfdigan http://www.futurity.org/society-culture/civilization-survives-if-women-have-equal-rights/comment-page-1/#comment-558482 Chris Madfdigan Sun, 20 Jan 2013 00:13:43 +0000 http://www.futurity.org/?p=270592#comment-558482 I thought the world stopped taking Ehrlich seriously decades ago, His progonstications have been proved wrong time and time again, That has never stopped him repeating his failed predictions - just pushing the date of doomsday further into the futureas his earlier deadlines sail past and the world grows richer and the poor and hungry fewer. Now he attempts to tart up his message by forging an artificial connection to women's rights. It is true that birth rates decline as womens rights and education improve. What he ignores is that improvement in womens rights and education is dependedent in a growth in wealth. Womens rights in the west didn't improve because all of a sudden we had a change of heart. They improved because they became feasible. They improved because we had the wealth and technology to enable society to function in a world where women were equal. I am not just talking about reproductive technology like the pill. Far more important has been the mechanisation of production making manual strength less important and vastly improved productivity of what might be called domestic labor through clothes washers, dishwashers, and the outsourcing of most food production to industrial scale production (sauces, frozen food ready to cook etc -just look at a supermarket at all the things that once had to be made in the home). In addition widespread access by women to high quality education requires an economic surplus that is only availlable in wealthy societies. The wealth that Ehrlich condemns is the prerequisite for women's equality - not its cause. I thought the world stopped taking Ehrlich seriously decades ago, His progonstications have been proved wrong time and time again, That has never stopped him repeating his failed predictions – just pushing the date of doomsday further into the futureas his earlier deadlines sail past and the world grows richer and the poor and hungry fewer.

Now he attempts to tart up his message by forging an artificial connection to women’s rights. It is true that birth rates decline as womens rights and education improve. What he ignores is that improvement in womens rights and education is dependedent in a growth in wealth.

Womens rights in the west didn’t improve because all of a sudden we had a change of heart. They improved because they became feasible. They improved because we had the wealth and technology to enable society to function in a world where women were equal. I am not just talking about reproductive technology like the pill. Far more important has been the mechanisation of production making manual strength less important and vastly improved productivity of what might be called domestic labor through clothes washers, dishwashers, and the outsourcing of most food production to industrial scale production (sauces, frozen food ready to cook etc -just look at a supermarket at all the things that once had to be made in the home). In addition widespread access by women to high quality education requires an economic surplus that is only availlable in wealthy societies.

The wealth that Ehrlich condemns is the prerequisite for women’s equality – not its cause.

]]> By: Joe http://www.futurity.org/society-culture/civilization-survives-if-women-have-equal-rights/comment-page-1/#comment-553322 Joe Tue, 15 Jan 2013 20:27:18 +0000 http://www.futurity.org/?p=270592#comment-553322 Though it may be based on scientific facts, the conclusions and recommendations are somewhat shallow and place very little faith the our ability as humans to develop breakthroughs and change. A hundred years ago, "scientists" like these would have suggested a cap at much less than our current population, yet we have survived and flourished. We should be more responsible, but simply saying birth control is the solution and calling it science is a shame. Though it may be based on scientific facts, the conclusions and recommendations are somewhat shallow and place very little faith the our ability as humans to develop breakthroughs and change. A hundred years ago, “scientists” like these would have suggested a cap at much less than our current population, yet we have survived and flourished. We should be more responsible, but simply saying birth control is the solution and calling it science is a shame.

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