as his view that the existing social conventions should be immediately upset like a barrow of apples at the Saturday morning market: every apple, all at once, to be bruised and kicked. What Rousseau failed to observe or appreciate is that the state is an "organic organ" which has evolved over a very long time and runs (and can only run) on culture and custom. It would take a lot more than long years of war to change the fundamental beliefs of a people. It would take a lot of time, and several generations will have had to pass, with wise men in power applying gentle non-hurting pressure (simple and steady pressure).Going against the writings of Godwin and Rousseau, Malthus, in his famous work, An Essay on the Principle of Population, believed that poverty and distress are unavoidable because population increases faster than resources. Malthus believed that war, famine, and disease were the best checks on population. Moral responsibilty on the people’s part was added later. His theory, when it was first introduced, was very controversial. It hasn’t held up much in the past century, though. This is because population levels have not come up to the levels expected. The reason is probably because of the introduction of inexpensive and readily available birth control procedures and cultural changes. What cannot be denied, is that a large human population, and more generally our increasing demands, has had, and is continuing to have, an impact on the environment. The difficulty is how we might go about stopping this impact, or reversing it. The government cannot do it. Lower population levels and lower demands will have to come spontaneously from the people themselves....
