Here'e another little gem pulled out of Star****p Troopers: the cause of war
(and the basis of morality.) War, it seems, is caused by population
pressure. An annoying person might deduce at this point that war became
increasingly common as the world's population increased, and that the most
warlike nations are the most crowded, for example the savage hoards of
Bangladesh or the ruthless conquestidors of Taiwan and South Korea. In any
event, it's the cause of both war and morality:
"Briefly, thus: All wars arise from population pressure. (Yes, even the
Crusades, though you have to dig into trade routes and birth rate
and several other things to prove it.) Morals -- all correct moral rules
derive from the instinct to survive; moral behavior is survival behavior
above the individual level -- as in a father who dies to save his
children. But since population pressure results from the process of
surviving through others, then war, because it results from population
pressure, derives from the same inherited instinct which produces all
moral
rules suitable for human beings."
Now is the war mostly reducible to the lemming theory (the lemmings fight,
rather than jump in the lake, in order to reduce population pressure) or
because of a quest for Lebensraum? Well, it seems the correct answer is
Lebensraum, and the human race gets to fill the entire universe if only it
can kill off the competition, who wants to do this also:
"Nevertheless, let's assume that the human race manages to balance birth
and death, just right to fit its own planets, and thereby becomes
peaceful. What happens?
Soon (about next Wednesday) the Bugs move in, kill off this breed
which 'ain'ta gonna study war no more' and the universe forgets us.
Which
still may happen. Either we spread and wipe out the Bugs, or they spread
and wipe us out -- because both races are tough and smart and want the
same real
estate.
Do you know how fast population pressure could cause us to fill the
entire universe shoulder to shoulder? The answer will astound you, just
the flicker of an eye in terms of the age of our race. Try it -- it's a
compound-interest expansion."
All of this sure makes me happy they stopped the evil Revolt of the
Scientists (who, I imagine, were hell-bent on enforcing the speed of light
limitation and would have kept us from expanding at all) and instituted a
truly rational and just society whose premise is that we must have
Lebensraum. Lebensraum! The basis of morality, as well as real estate.
Without consideration of traditions and prejudices, humanity must find the
courage to gather our species and their strength for an advance along the
road that will lead this race from its present restricted living space to
new planets and new stars, and hence also free it from the danger of
vani****ng from the universe.
What's another good sf book which explains the basis of morality for us?
And I don't mean written by Terry Goodkind. I don't want to get stuck on
just ST.
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