Why Population Pressure and Militant Religion are the most Important Causes of the Developing Global Crisis

Andregg, Michael M.
2009-06-04
Thumbnail Image

View/Download File

Why population pressure and militant religion cause wars.pdf (552.42 KB)

Persistent link to this item

https://hdl.handle.net/11299/208781
Statistics
View Statistics

Journal Title

Journal ISSN

Volume Title

Title

Why Population Pressure and Militant Religion are the most Important Causes of the Developing Global Crisis

Authors

Published Date

2009-06-04

Publisher

Type

Conference Paper
Presentation
Scholarly Text or Essay

Abstract

Population pressure and militant religion are the most important causes of the crisis before us today because we can do something about them, and if we don’t we are doomed. The history of the earth is vast and many civilizations have risen, fallen, transformed, and sometimes collapsed catastrophically. All of this is extremely complicated, so to boil it down to a couple of variables is ridiculously simplistic. That is, however, one role of theory for complex processes, reducing dozens or even hundreds of variables into a smaller number that minds can more easily manage. So this is a position paper, not empirical research. Controversies accompany definition of many key terms like “civilization,” “religion” (militant and otherwise), “genocide,” “human nature,” “population pressure” and so forth. These will be set aside so that the key thesis can be presented in the space available. I encourage anyone to disprove or improve on these ideas, because however you describe it our global civilization is entering a period of profound crisis. Practical answers matter more than words, and accuracy matters more than ideology. In the past, as cases here show, some civilizations facing similar challenges survived while others perished forever from this earth. So the question of why some fail and why others succeed is not a mere theoretical question. There are many other variables important to the rise and fall of civilizations, but most will not destroy you if neglected. Population pressure and militant religion can. Plus, we can affect these factors, while goals like changing human nature or eliminating sin are ephemeral. This paper is built on foundations laid by authors like Clive Ponting, Jared Dimond and Tatu Vanhanen (of Britain, the USA and Finland respectively). But almost every concept is disputable, from the definition of civilizations to the “evolutionary roots of politics” that Vanhanen discusses (and Azar Gat elaborates, 2006) which drive some of their political science colleagues into vehement denials that biology has anything at all to do with politics. The critics are wrong, but rather than argue each of these and many other relevant items extensively here, I will just declare my opinion. Having considered these complex and sensitive topics as carefully as I can, these are my conclusions. Readers may critique and prove or disprove them as they like. My goal is human survival, which I think is at risk to these two factors specifically.

Keywords

Description

This paper is one of many on the "Developing Global Crisis" presented at many academic conferences and occasionally to military or intelligence audiences over the last 25 years. A recurring problem is that there are at least 40 causes of wars that recur through 3,000 years of human history, which is too many for most audiences to consider. This paper collapses those into two "most important" causes even though that is generally a mistake. Many subsequent papers add at least two more, "Corruptions of Governance" and "Authoritarian Law."

Related to

Replaces

License

Collections

Articles and Scholarly Works

Series/Report Number

Funding information

Isbn identifier

Doi identifier

Previously Published Citation

Suggested citation

Andregg, Michael M.. (2009). Why Population Pressure and Militant Religion are the most Important Causes of the Developing Global Crisis. Retrieved from the University Digital Conservancy, https://hdl.handle.net/11299/208781.

Content distributed via the University Digital Conservancy may be subject to additional license and use restrictions applied by the depositor. By using these files, users agree to the Terms of Use. Materials in the UDC may contain content that is disturbing and/or harmful. For more information, please see our statement on harmful content in digital repositories.