“We don’t allow dogs to breed. We spay them. We neuter them. We try to keep them from having unwanted puppies, and yet these women are literally having litters of children.” These are the words of Barbara Harris, a 47–year–old homemaker from Stanton, California, who has started an organization called Children Requiring a Caring Kommunity (CRACK).
Spring 2000
Why “Demographic Fatigue” Contributes Little to Our Understanding of Contemporary Africa
Lester Brown and his colleagues from the Worldwatch Institute have put forth the concept of “demographic fatigue” as the explanation for what they understand as a “crisis” engulfing the African continent.1 Their publication Beyond Malthus coins the phrase “demographic fatigue” to describe what they perceive as the inability of governments to cope with the consequences of their rapidly expanding populations. Yet this work never extends its analysis beyond Malthus.
References
Notes
- Brown, L.R., Gardner G., and Halweil, B., “Beyond Malthus: Sixteen Dimensions of the Population Problem,” Worldwatch Paper #143, New York: W. W. Norton, 1999.
- Ibid., p. 6
- Ibid., p.72-73
- Turner, Hyden et al 1993.
- Tiffen, Mortimore et al 1994.
- Brown et al, p. 67.
- Ibid., 66.
- Haraway 1999, 91, fn.40.
- Brown et al., p. 69.
Bibliography, further reading and resources:
- Bandarage, A. (1997). Women, Population and Global Crisis. London and New Jersey, Zed Books.
- Brown, L.R., Gardner G., and Halweil, B., “Beyond Malthus: Sixteen Dimensions of the Population Problem,” Worldwatch Paper #143, New York: W. W. Norton, 1999.
- Tiffen, M., M. Mortimore, et al. (1994). More People, Less Erosion: Evironmental Recovery in Kenya. Chichester, John Wiley and Sons.
- Turner, C. H., G. Hyden, et al., Eds. (1993). Population Growth and Agricultural Change in Africa. Gainesville, FL, Univ. Press of Florida.
Furedi, F. (1997). Population and Development: A Critical Introduction. New York, St. Martin’s Press.
Haraway, D. (1999). “The Virtual Speculum in the New World Order.” Revisioning Women, Health and Healing: Feminist, Cultural and Technoscience Perspectives. A. E. Clarke and V. L. Olesen. New York and London, Routledge: 49-96.
Hartmann, B. (1995). Reproductive Rights and Wrongs: The Global Politics of Population Control. Boston, South End Press.
Silliman, J. and Y. King, Eds. (1999). Dangerous Intersections: Feminist Perspectives on Population, Environment, and Development. Cambridge, MA, South End Press.
The New Eugenics: The Case Against Genetically Modified Humans
At the cusp of dot–com frenzy and the biotech century, a group of influential scientists and pundits has begun zealously promoting a new bio–engineered utopia. In the world of their visionary fervor, parents will strive to afford the latest genetic "improvements" for their children. According to the advocates of this human future (or, as some term it, "post–human" future), the exercise of consumer preferences for offspring options will be the prelude to a grand achievement: the technological control of human evolution.
References
Resources
The Exploratory Initiative on the New Human Genetic Technologies (466 Green Street, San Francisco, CA 94133, USA, phone: 415–434–1403) is working to oppose genetic technologies especially human germline engineering and reproductive cloning, that foster eugenic ideologies and objectify and commodify human life. To subscribe to its free online newsletter, or for other inquiries about becoming involved, please e–mail Marcy Darnovsky at: teel@adax.com
Books opposing techno–eugenics:
- Andrews, Lori. The Clone Age: Adventures in the New World of Reproductive Technology. New York: Henry Holt, 1999.
- Appleyard, Bryan. Brave New Worlds: Staying Human in the Genetic Future. New York: Viking, 1998.
- Hubbard, Ruth and Elijah Wald. Exploding the Gene Myth. Boston: Beacon Press, 1997.
- Kimbrell, Andrew. The Human Body Shop: The Engineering and Marketing of Life. New York: HarperCollins, 1993.
- Rifkin, Jeremy. The Biotech Century: Harnessing the Gene and Remaking the World. New York: Jeremy P. Tarcher / Putnam, 1998.
Books supporting techno–eugenics:
- Pence, Gregory E. Who's Afraid of Human Cloning? Lanham, MD: Rowman & Littlefield, 1998.
- Silver, Lee. Remaking Eden: Cloning and Beyond in a Brave New World. New York: Avon, 1997.
Web sites opposing techno–eugenics:
- Council for Responsible Genetics http://www.gene–watch.org
- Campaign Against Human Genetic Engineering http://www.users.globalnet.co.uk/~cahge
- Genetic Engineering and its Dangers http://www.online.sfsu.edu/~rone/gedanger.htm
Web sites supporting techno–eugenics:
- UCLA Program on Medicine, Technology and Society (Gregory Stock, director) http://www.research.mednet.ucla.edu/pmts/germline
- Extropy Institute http://www.extropy.org
Cracking open CRACK: Unethical sterilization movement gains momentum
“We don’t allow dogs to breed. We spay them. We neuter them. We try to keep them from having unwanted puppies, and yet these women are literally having litters of children.” These are the words of Barbara Harris, a 47–year–old homemaker from Stanton, California, who has started an organization called Children Requiring a Caring Kommunity (CRACK).
