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From: pkb@ihlpa.UUCP (Benson)
Newsgroups: net.sci
Subject: Re: Population control
Message-ID: <1736@ihlpa.UUCP>
Date: Tue, 26-Aug-86 13:18:20 EDT
Article-I.D.: ihlpa.1736
Posted: Tue Aug 26 13:18:20 1986
Date-Received: Thu, 28-Aug-86 04:27:11 EDT
References: <543@gargoyle.UUCP> <94100001@haddock>
Organization: AT&T Bell Laboratories
Lines: 19

> 
> The following (admittedly out-of-context) has been attributed to Ehrlich:
> > If such steps are unavailing, he continued, the nation might resort
> > to "the addition of a temporary sterilant to staple food, or to the
> > water supply," with limited distribution of antidote chemicals,
> > perhaps by lottery.
> to which some have said this would be "abhorrent".
> 
> For the sake of argument, let's assume that such a sterilant exists, and
> let's ignore the political problems with putting additives in the water.
> 
> What if they gave out the antidote for free?  Reproductive choice still
> exists, but the default value is changed: failure to make an active choice
> does not increase the population.
> 
> Karl W. Z. Heuer (ihnp4!ima!haddock!karl), The Walking Lint


This is beginning to sound like something out of Brave New World.