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From: karl@haddock
Newsgroups: net.sci
Subject: Re: Population control
Message-ID: <94100001@haddock>
Date: Sun, 24-Aug-86 14:20:00 EDT
Article-I.D.: haddock.94100001
Posted: Sun Aug 24 14:20:00 1986
Date-Received: Thu, 28-Aug-86 05:30:33 EDT
References: <543@gargoyle.UUCP>
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Nf-ID: #R:gargoyle.UUCP:543:haddock:94100001:000:743
Nf-From: haddock!karl    Aug 24 14:20:00 1986


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