Glen
Moderator
MALTHUSIAN MANIFESTO
Preamble
The world stands on the precipice of catastrophic collapse from an explosion of unchecked population growth. Many nations of good will have taken heed of this threat to all the world and taken the first steps to averting a population apocalypse. Unfortunately, as of yet, not all nations have embraced such heroic steps, and in addition to placing an unfair burden on those brave peoples who have already made the hard choices to save humanity and the earth, the lack of international unity on preventing the massive death and destruction inevitable if the world does not act now has irresponsibly placed the entire globe in peril. We, the members of the international community who have heeded the warning of Thomas Malthus and the Malthusian clubs, now call on all nations to act in defense of the very life of the planet.
Part One - Embrace Measures to Curb Population Growth
Prevent unwanted pregnancies - Legalize all means of preventing unwanted births, including surgical sterilization and medical abortions. Provided education and financial support for use of methods to prevent unwanted pregnancies both before and during pregnancy.
Promote euthanasia - Legalize, provide for, and support the right to die for those who wish to lay down the burden of this life. This shall include those who can not speak for themselves and suffer from the infirmities of this world.
Acceptance of Monophilic relations - Legalize and give equality to those who wish to pursue relationships with those of the same gender as they do no harm to others and these relationship relieve population pressure as they do not bear children.
Embrace child limits - For the foreseeable future, it is necessary to limit families to one child until the population stabilizes at a lower, sustainable global population, at which time to prevent future growth, the number shall be two children per family. It is understood given the risks of reducing the population it may be necessary for those who carry unhealthy traits to not contribute them forward, which may be offset by allowing an extra child for those who carry traits that will enrich the future smaller population, so long as the numbers are balanced so population reduction continues.
Provide punishments that curb unwanted population growth - People who selfishly attempt to break population controls should be subject to abortion and sterilization. Criminals should be subject to sterilization or euthanasia depending on their threat to the people.
Stockpile and ration food supplies - In order to forestall a Malthusian collapse until population controls take effect, food supplies must be strictly conserved by the state and only made available to those adhering to population control principles.
Promote fairness in application of population controls - It is recognized that while drastic measures are necessary to save us all, they could be abused for narrow political and philosophical ends, and therefore it is believed that all nations should embrace democratic institutions to guarantee that such measures are applied in a fair and equitable manner based on the principles of justice and sound scientific principles.
Part Two - Mutual Support for Nations Embracing Population Control
Economic cooperation between nations heeding the Malthusian warning - Nations that have embraced the call to action to reverse dangerous population growth should support each other through promotion of trade and economic support. Those more fortunate nations financially are called upon to provide economic support to their fellow nations who have heeded the call but may be struggling economically. Trade in foodstuffs between Malthusian nations is acceptable though it is recognized that each nation's first responsibility is to secure the food supply for their own citizens, but then should do what they can to help their fellow Malthusian nations.
Scientific cooperation between nations embracing population control - While all innovations in population control should be freely made public for the world, it is recognized that other areas of scientific advancement should also be shared with proper recompense between nations engaged in the struggle to prevent population collapse to uplift the populations of those nations that are sacrificing for the good of the world.
Political and cultural fellowship between Malthusian nations - Brotherhood and felicitous relations should be fostered between all nations fighting to save the future, to provide for the common morale and well-being of the people. Especially valued are expressions of solidarity and actions and works that promote the heroics and sacrifice of the people in their struggle against population collapse.
Military and security aid between all nations adhering to population control principles - We must all stand united against those who would threaten the principles of population control. An attack or threat against one Malthusian nation is a threat to all of us, and must be met with swift, decisive action in the name of justice and our very survival. Similarly, any subversive movements to hinder or reverse the brave population control measures enacted by nations of good will must be thwarted and fellow Malthusian nations should provide any and all aid to threatened fellow nations to eliminate such internal threats to the salvation of mankind. Where Malthusian movements exist within nations that have not yet enacted population control measures all aid and comfort should be supplied to these brave movements to bring their enlightenment to the rule of their nations.
Part Three - Measures Against Recalcitrant Nations Threatening the Planet
Declaration of war by all nations of the Malthusian community against attackers of member nations - While it is hoped that all nations will embrace population controls and the nations that have enacted such measures, the reality is that some nations still stand against the necessity of population control and threaten the international community that has seen this need. By threatening the movement to save the planet, these rogue governments have declared themselves an enemy of all humanity, and we the nations of the Malthusian community declare war against them all.
Nations and peoples threatening the community of Malthusian nations will pay a steep price - Given the high stakes for the world and the sacrifices already being made by the good citizens of the community of Malthusian nations, war against such dangerous leaders and those misguided enough to support their aggression will face the total force of the community of Malthusian nations. We call upon their populations to rise up against such evil leaders, and their militaries to rebel against such dangerous regimes. The territories of such nations are forfeit to the community of Malthusian nations and will be annexed by nations who do abide by population control or replaced by democratic republics with constitutions embracing of population controls as seen fit by the community of Malthusian nations. Those who aid and support such nations can expect no quarter nor mercy from the righteous forces of the nations of the Malthusian community, and those who take up arms against the community of Malthusian nations are duly warned that their lives are forfeit.
A warning to those who stand on the sidelines of history - So-called 'neutral' nations who while not actively hostile to the nations of the Malthusian community but who refuse to adopt population control measures are warned that they are still part of the problem of unchecked population growth that threats to cause the collapse of the world population. The nations of the Malthusian community will no longer trade with such nations, will not export precious foodstuffs to such nations, and will consider the trade of such nations with enemies of the Malthusian community to be legitimate targets of war. All those nations who do not stand with the brave peoples of the Malthusian community stand against us, and will be treated accordingly, until they see the light and join us in fighting the scourge of population explosion.
Yikes, this little manifesto really does illustrate how warped the Malthusian agenda is (and for those of us who find some good ideas in there....bear in mind, Hitler was an environmentalist 
). I have a bad feeling about what the Malthusian bloc will have wrought by the time this is all said and done. Then again, maybe I'm just being a tad bit pessimistic about manifestos in general. Either way, there seems to be a war on now. Good work!
). I have a bad feeling about what the Malthusian bloc will have wrought by the time this is all said and done. Then again, maybe I'm just being a tad bit pessimistic about manifestos in general. Either way, there seems to be a war on now. Good work!Hmm… I don't think it's that bad, really. From the sound of it, anti-Malthusians will probably be anti-abortion, anti-euthanasia and homophobic in reaction; and the Malthusians do recognise that the kind of authoritarianism inherent in the ability to execute their policies is a potential danger and have included a point about keeping a close eye on that even within their manifesto, which points to a level of self-awareness greater than was seen in many revolutionary movements in OTL, where mitigating potential excesses in the execution of what was considered desirable policy was scarcely paid attention to at all, let alone enshrined in immediate policy.
Yes, from the sort of people who are just instinctively inclined to like a liberal capitalist status quo no matter what (and that's not an insult to such people; we're used to the idea that the challenges to such a status quo are communist, reactionary or fascist, so often that's the instinctive position to take) anything that sounds like a revolutionary movement explicitly opposed to such a status quo sounds evil. However, I don't think there's anything in here that looks particularly loathsome; the nastiest bits are the forced sterilisation of people who don't obey the population control principle (shades of One Child Policy and it will probably have similar results, but that's not exactly the epitome of evil) and the hostile attitude towards neutral nations, but frankly, if any OTL ideology such as capitalism and socialism were in a position of power in much of the world, it too would be seeking to expand to nations that did not currently share it, so that's nothing particularly nasty either.
Kudos to Glen for setting up a revolutionary conflict without making either the counter-revolutionaries or the revolutionaries blatantly 'the good guys'.
Yes, from the sort of people who are just instinctively inclined to like a liberal capitalist status quo no matter what (and that's not an insult to such people; we're used to the idea that the challenges to such a status quo are communist, reactionary or fascist, so often that's the instinctive position to take) anything that sounds like a revolutionary movement explicitly opposed to such a status quo sounds evil. However, I don't think there's anything in here that looks particularly loathsome; the nastiest bits are the forced sterilisation of people who don't obey the population control principle (shades of One Child Policy and it will probably have similar results, but that's not exactly the epitome of evil) and the hostile attitude towards neutral nations, but frankly, if any OTL ideology such as capitalism and socialism were in a position of power in much of the world, it too would be seeking to expand to nations that did not currently share it, so that's nothing particularly nasty either.
Kudos to Glen for setting up a revolutionary conflict without making either the counter-revolutionaries or the revolutionaries blatantly 'the good guys'.
Overall I agree that the Malthusians are far more nuanced than most alternate-revolutionary movements on this site. And I expect that we'll see a homophobic, anti-abortion backlash because of this. And maybe the Haber process won't actually be discovered in time and the Malthusians will be the only thing saving the world from a population disaster. (Although I suspect they won't as the current war will lead to the discovery of the alt-Haber process as Britain or one of the other warring powers tries to produce more explosives.) On the other hand, this is just the manifesto and there is probably a lot of variance between Malthusian nations, similar to the the Eastern Bloc. It could well be in some parts of the Malthusian world the population control measures are at least as much a cover for disposing on unwanted groups as about population control.
Edit:
Put it this way, Glen could either be subverting the usual "evil ideological revolutionaries vs. good democracies" or he could be setting the Malthusians up as the Green Storm from Mortal Engines - they have a completely legitimate point but are definitely on the "ends justify the means" part of the spectrum.
teg
It's true the Malthusians are hardly Nazis or Communists, given that their goals are ostensibly sensible ones from a population control POV. I think part of what turns me against them (other than my unabashed liberal capitalist stance ) is the fact that we've not really seen an ideologically-motivated bloc like this since the Korsgaardists, and that bunch was part of what made TTL's the Great War the slugfest it was. That, and the fact that TTL in general is pretty bright, all things considered, compared to OTL and many other TLs.
) is the fact that we've not really seen an ideologically-motivated bloc like this since the Korsgaardists, and that bunch was part of what made TTL's the Great War the slugfest it was. That, and the fact that TTL in general is pretty bright, all things considered, compared to OTL and many other TLs.
Glen
Moderator
Yikes, this little manifesto really does illustrate how warped the Malthusian agenda is (and for those of us who find some good ideas in there....bear in mind, Hitler was an environmentalist
It is an interesting mix, isn't it?
Time will tell...
Oh, they can be a mixed bag...even if they didnt use the term manifesto, the Declaration of Indepence basically is a manifesto.
There does and thank you!
Glen
Moderator
It is true that those who are against those things already will not feel comfortable in the Malthusian camp. However, the biphilic & monophilic populace and their allies are diverse in their opinion of Malthusianism and some have been early and vociferous opponents of Malthusians attempting to coopt their movement. You might think about the OTL example of equality for women and Communism.
A very good point.
Yes, politics aren't on the same axis ITTL as they were IOTL - and opposing sides feel they are doing what is best. Just as the Korsgaadians did in their time.
Thank you - that was indeed my intent so I am gratified to have achieved it!
Glen
Moderator
I am gratified that you find it so!
Time will tell...though those who go too far in that direction will be accused of Korsgaadian tendencies...
It would seem likely that a haber process would be in place - but that is only one necessary step in averting a Malthusian collapse...
Quite right!
Sadly likely...
Could be...time will tell...
Glen
Moderator
Nope, sure aren't! Hitler would have been horrified by them!!
They don't have a class or economic agenda beyond mutual controls for avoiding/preparing for a Malthusian collapse but Communists wouldn't necessarily abhor them (OTL Mao would have been an outright leader among them I suspect!).
They certainly think so!
I think part of what turns me against them (other than my unabashed liberal capitalist stance
Well, there is that, isn't there!
Well what you say about the Korsgaardists is true, but we have in fact had ideologically-motivated blocs prior to that, they just didn't stand out as such. The first in fact was liberal humanism which was represented by the ARW, the British Reform, as well as the French Empire & German Empire. Overlapping them was the Nationalist movement led by Napoleon and his allies. The Liberal War was fought between the Liberal Humanist movement and the older conservative Monarchist nations (a counter-revolutionary movement).
There has also been long standing smoldering tensions between more centralist vs decentralized political approaches, though the only major nation thus far to fight a war over it was Mexico.
If you say so.
actually, I agree, and the biggest reason for that was freeing the USA from having to deal with slavery and the aftermath of the civil war. The British Empire was able to deal with it earlier and more effectively ITTL, and thus a win-win.
Glen
Moderator
List of Elements in Order of Discovery from Antiquity to the Population War:
29 Copper
82 Lead
79 Gold
47 Silver
26 Iron
6 Carbon
50 Tin
16 Sulfur
80 Mercury
30 Zinc
33 Arsenic
51 Antimony
15 Phosphorus
27 Cobalt
78 Platinum
28 Nickel
83 Bismuth
12 Magnesium
1 Hydrogen
8 Oxygen
7 Nitrogen
17 Chlorine
25 Manganese
56 Barium
42 Molybdenum
52 Transylvanium
74 Tungsten
38 Strontium
40 Zirconia
92 Uranium
22 Titanium
39 Yttrium
24 Siberium
4 Beryllium
23 Chromium
41 Columbium
73 Washingtonium
58 Bastnium
46 Tritonium
76 Osmium
77 Irisium
45 Rosadium
19 Potassium
11 Natronium
20 Calxium
5 Boraxium
9 Flussine
53 Purpurine
3 Utonium
48 Cadmium
34 Thorium
14 Silicon
13 Alumium
35 Murine
90 Neptunium
57 Selenium
68 Rubescium
65 Erbium
44 Ruthenium
55 Minervium
37 Martium
81 Vertium
49 Indicium
2 Solium
31 Blumium
70 Nyctimenium
67 Thetisium
69 Nereusium
21 Coraxium
62 Dorisium
64 Romulusium
59 Samarium
60 Remusium
66 Terbium
32 Tilicon
18 Noblium
36 Oblium
10 Tolium
54 Poblium
84 Scandinavium
88 Apollonium
86 Quoblium
89 Venusium
63 Mercurium
71 Ytterbium
75 Lovecraftium
72 Azirconia
91 Tamarium
87 Junium
29 Copper
82 Lead
79 Gold
47 Silver
26 Iron
6 Carbon
50 Tin
16 Sulfur
80 Mercury
30 Zinc
33 Arsenic
51 Antimony
15 Phosphorus
27 Cobalt
78 Platinum
28 Nickel
83 Bismuth
12 Magnesium
1 Hydrogen
8 Oxygen
7 Nitrogen
17 Chlorine
25 Manganese
56 Barium
42 Molybdenum
52 Transylvanium
74 Tungsten
38 Strontium
40 Zirconia
92 Uranium
22 Titanium
39 Yttrium
24 Siberium
4 Beryllium
23 Chromium
41 Columbium
73 Washingtonium
58 Bastnium
46 Tritonium
76 Osmium
77 Irisium
45 Rosadium
19 Potassium
11 Natronium
20 Calxium
5 Boraxium
9 Flussine
53 Purpurine
3 Utonium
48 Cadmium
34 Thorium
14 Silicon
13 Alumium
35 Murine
90 Neptunium
57 Selenium
68 Rubescium
65 Erbium
44 Ruthenium
55 Minervium
37 Martium
81 Vertium
49 Indicium
2 Solium
31 Blumium
70 Nyctimenium
67 Thetisium
69 Nereusium
21 Coraxium
62 Dorisium
64 Romulusium
59 Samarium
60 Remusium
66 Terbium
32 Tilicon
18 Noblium
36 Oblium
10 Tolium
54 Poblium
84 Scandinavium
88 Apollonium
86 Quoblium
89 Venusium
63 Mercurium
71 Ytterbium
75 Lovecraftium
72 Azirconia
91 Tamarium
87 Junium
Thande
Donor
Interesting. Certainly open to criticism, but so is the OTL periodic table - it makes enough sense to plausibly be an ATL alternative.
The only part that seems a little inexplicable is the use of the name Noble Metals for the entire d-block - the term is sometimes used in OTL for metals like gold which are very unreactive, but you're using the term to include very reactive metals like iron and nickel, which seems imprecise.
If you want an alternative term for Transition Metals I would suggest another term which references their colour transitions, like say Chromatic Metals.
I would also suggest parsing down the 'X-usium' names to just 'X-ium', with the possible exception of Venusium.
Glen
Moderator
Plausibility is good.
Yes it certainly is - I was thinking ITTL it might have been a term that started out as meaning the unreactive metals but eventually lost that meaning to be more encompassing.
Hmmm, I like that - maybe it will gain popularity after the Population War...
I thought about that (except of course Venusium) but I decided that given some of the awkward wordiness of names IOTL that it was a plausible variant.
Thanks for the input - I was curious what you thought about the transposition of the more standard OTL positions - it fits neater if using the whole names and then it just looked a lot like stairs to me, so I kept it.
I like it. I've always thought the Periodic Table's kinda funny-looking, but never thought about what to do about it. And good choice on the names. I think my favorite's Apollonium, and I like all the ones named after places. And it's good that this world has gotten around the aluminum/aluminium issue.
I know you're focused on atomic science, presumably for the obvious reasons, but I have a question about taxonomy. Does TTL have different ways of classifying animals and plants?
I know you're focused on atomic science, presumably for the obvious reasons, but I have a question about taxonomy. Does TTL have different ways of classifying animals and plants?
Well, that certainly makes sense. It still looks strange, but I believe in many parts of chemistry a similar periodic table is used. Wish I remembered the name. In any case, it's pretty similar to the OTL usual one, with the largest difference being the place where the "break" is, and that is, of course entirely arbitrary. The lanthanides and actinides simply in the table makes sense too; the only reason they are (confusingly) not in line is because they would stretch the table significantly. When the actinides are completed, a similar problem will exist, so that row may be removed and placed elsewhere in some periodic tables. Of course that's not exactly important.
Hydrogen does not belong with the halogens because it may lose or gain an electron depending on the circumstances. While it can act as a halogen, it can also act as an alkali metal. I think, for the sake of plausibility, it should belong to neither as IOTL.
Glen
Moderator
Thanks - it was something I found fun to develop.
Thanks as well - it took a heck of a lot of work figuring out plausible names for elements named in the 19th & 20th centuries (yes, they were not chosen at random). I agree the aluminum/aluminium annoyance and it's even sillier because Alumium predates those terms IOTL!
Well Linnaeus predates the POD so that will be a common base...however you may be surprised with the fact that there will be some biology related updates in the near future, and I can expand that to mention how taxonomy is doing.