Author(s)

Y. Ishiguro

Abstract

The fundamental cause of almost all problems facing humanity is the size of the human population, multiplied by the intense consumption. There will not be technological solutions unless the population and the consumption are reduced, because apparently the capacity of the planet has already been surpassed. In order to enable a sustainable global civilization, some basic concepts regarding human existence need to be recognized or changed: * The Earth is finite in space, resources and capacities of its systems; * Man is adapted to the current equilibrium in the systems of the Earth; * A healthy biosphere is essential for the equilibrium in the habitats for man; * The biosphere is maintained by photosynthesis in plants; * There is a limit to the size of the biosphere; * An increase of human population means a reduction of those of other species; * Perturbations in the biosphere as well as in other systems could break the equilibrium; * In a closed system the effective fertility of each species must be that of replacement; * There cannot be human rights that lead to the collapse of the community; * The concept of community needs to include all humanity and the biosphere; * Ultimately man has to live with renewable resources; * The principles of economy need to be modified; * The meaning of life must be found in something other than procreation or consumption; * All ideals cannot be realized; * Some new rationality needs to be added to the rules of community; * The Earth can support indefinitely an abundant lifestyle in a limited global civilization; * Human population must be reduced. Keywords: sustainability, limits of the Earth, population, consumption, fertility control, irrational idealism, rational society, philosophical bases, capitalism.

Keywords

sustainability, limits of the Earth, population, consumption, fertility control, irrational idealism, rational society, philosophical bases, capitalism.