Who the hell is an immigrant?

[Slargos]

Slargos' anti-American trolling is beginning to get tiresome.

Deposed any Saudi Arabian dictators lately? 

Why should we? They are our Romania. Delivering the sweet oil to their master.

My point is of course that USA is perfectly content to invade over resources or rely on exports from nations governed by dictators if it works better.

Pot, kettle.

[Razgovory]

Dictator does not equal Totalitarian.

[Malthus]

The problem with my namesake's theory is that there are very few human societies in which it could apply, because there are few in which access to food simpliciter was the primary restriction on population.

In preindustrial societies, such things as disease and war most certainly were the primary causes of population crashes, as opposed to simply running out of food; in fact, starvation was usually a result of war and social collapse, not the cause.

In the 20th century, mass famines have almost inevitably been caused by either deliberate government action (Ukraine, Ethiopia) or the breakdown of society accompanied by war; I can't really think of any cases in which simply having too many people in and of itself caused starvation.

That isn't to say that an increased population doesn't increase problems, cause environmental degredation, etc., only that an actual Malthusian crisis seems more of a theoretical threat.

I think you can make an argument that things can go haywire before actual starvation from lack of food occurs.  If you're starting to run up against the limit of food supplies, food prices go way up, and the masses start getting restless.  With the restless masses, some kind of devastating conflict is going to emerge sooner or later, and then you have the famines from devastation.

Likewise, insufficient rations can fail to kill outright, but make one more predisposed to deaths from diseases or plagues.

I suppose you could, but from what I understand evidence lacks that this actually happens to any great degree, outside of unusual cases like Easter Island.

The only large scale cases I can think of where actual lack of food drives conflict is in very marginal environments, like the steppe, where a drying-up of grassland can lead one tribe of nomads to attempt to displace another.

In most other cases of conflict, the actual source of the conflict is more often causes entirely unrelated to lack of food.

This is true even of conflicts below the historical horizon (assuming that primitive peoples still existing today are analogous to those existing in the past). For example, in tribal conflicts in New Guinea, the conflict is often started over alleged insults or accusations of witchcraft; if a village is beaten, the victors generally do not take over their territory, for fear of curses. This does not comport well with a Mathusian explanation.   

[Slargos]

Dictator does not equal Totalitarian.

Sugarcoat it however you wish. I see that you didn't object to my accusation about invasions though. I guess there's some honesty in you at least. 

[Pat]

Wasn't Romanians that burned the Reichstag so not sure if I follow the analogy.

Same as Saudi citizens were involved with September 11th!  OMG!  It is a perfect analogy!

Oh and Bush = Hitler.

I just ran with Ed Anger's Nazi Germany = US analogy but poor you being victim of hideous anti-americanism I guess.

I knew that using the Yicratic Method would get Pat to screw up. 

Because I'm not following grumblers rules of how to write my posts? I've had this very discussion with grumbler before and he knows exactly what I mean. Last time around grumbler argued I couldn't use the term "malthusian dynamics" to refer to "population growth vs. resources-dynamics" (or whatever) because Malthus didn't use the term in his writings. Well. Malthus is the writer associated with population growth vs. resources so it's a convenient word to use and one I'll keep using until I find one that I like better. And let me make this clear so even Americans can understand it, although that is probably beyond my powers: I am using the term loosely to refer to population-resource dynamics and not in reference to every single thing Malthus said or did.


Re: Joan. I said I didn't believe it was an iron-bound law and not that Malthus said it was. You seem really desperate to score points or something.

[The Brain]

There are no points on Languish. There could be, it's just that no one has ever made a quality post here.

[Slargos]

There are no points on Languish. There could be, it's just that no one has ever made a quality post here.

I think you have made many, many quality posts. 

[Valmy]

I just ran with Ed Anger's Nazi Germany = US analogy but poor you being victim of hideous anti-americanism I guess.

I was running with the same thing I just misunderstood your post

This is the second time you took a joke post of mine and thought I was some sort of American hypernationalist.

[The Brain]

There are no points on Languish. There could be, it's just that no one has ever made a quality post here.

I think you have made many, many quality posts. 

LOL WUT

[Caliga]

There are no points on Languish. There could be, it's just that no one has ever made a quality post here.

I have points.  I refer you to my sig, my good man.

[Slargos]

I just ran with Ed Anger's Nazi Germany = US analogy but poor you being victim of hideous anti-americanism I guess.

I was running with the same thing I just misunderstood your post

This is the second time you took a joke post of mine and thought I was some sort of American hypernationalist.

Indeed, when the truth is you lack the spine to stand by any issue.

POWOHNOHEDIDDINYESHEDIDYESHEDID

I'm sorry, I already regret it. 

[Razgovory]

For a while I was considering giving out negative points and giving myself positive points to keep a balance of things.  Then it occurred to me that might be crazy, and I try to avoid doing crazy things.

[Valmy]

Indeed, when the truth is you lack the spine to stand by any issue.

POWOHNOHEDIDDINYESHEDIDYESHEDID

I'm sorry, I already regret it. 

You wound me sir

[Eddie Teach]

I have both given and received points on this forum.

[Valmy]

I have both given and received points on this forum.

I had some really cool points.  An honorary Englishman point IIRC.