Garrett Hardin quote
For all but the last few hundred years of human history the
dominant worldview was a limited view: resources were limited, human nature was
fixed, and spending beyond one’s income was a sin. This essentially
conservative perception prevailed until about 1600. Then science and technology
shook the foundations. One presumed limit after another was shown to be, in
part, false.
…
The “Don’t worry” theories of population control amount to a
reaffirmation of the religious idea of Providence. Professional publicists know
there is always a good living to be made by catering to the public’s craving
for optimistic reports. Such behavior finds no justification in the attitude of
the Buddha, expressed five centuries before Christ: “I teach only two things: the
cause of human sorrow and the way to become free of it.” The present work,
though written by a non-Buddhist, proceeds along the Buddhist path—first to
reveal the causes of human sorrow in population matters and then to uncover
promising ways to free ourselves of the sorrow.
Hearing the Buddha’s statement today many people think, “How
depressing! Why accept such a pessimistic outlook on life?” But they are wrong:
it is not a pessimistic view if we reword it in terms that are more familiar to
our science-based society. Reworded: “Here’s something that isn’t working
right. I want to fix it, but before I can do that I have to know exactly why it
doesn’t work right.” One who looks for causes before seeking remedies should
not be condemned as a pessimist. In general, a great deal of looking for causes
must precede the finding of remedies.
