In his book Collapse, Jared Diamond wrote about a few island societies that thrived for hundreds or thousands of years. He compared these to other societies, many of which grew to huge populations before they eventually ran out of resources and collapsed (hence the obvious choice of book title).
A community of the long-lasting, small societies was resource management and population control. In the end, whether a society continued or collapsed, it almost always came down to fuel and food.
Too little of either, often caused by overconsumption, eventually doomed most societies.
One island society he wrote about controlled population by suicide, infanticide, abortion and birth control. This sounds harsh. But the people who lived there for centuries knew exactly how many people their subsistence crops, trees and fishing could support. They maintained their population at this number (around 1200 people) for centuries. When researchers discovered the island and spoke to its natives, they learned that this population control was accepted and practiced by everyone. It was matter of fact. Everyone shared in limited resources and everyone took their part in conserving them. (In the 1800s or 1900s, European colonizing nations took over, outlawed some of the practices and eventually moved everyone off the island.)
Imagine that – voluntary resource conservation and limiting growth in order to sustain and maintain a satisfactory life.
It seems completely foreign to the mantra of continued growth at all costs that permeates modern society.
It made me think about children dying. On a podcast this week, I heard a familiar trope being offered in sincere sympathy, “A parent should never outlive their child. It’s not supposed to be that way. It’s not natural”.
When my step-daughter died at age 28, I heard this from many people. It is said with kindness, love and empathy.
But I don’t think it is true.
If we consider history, families often had many children so that they enough survived to farm, work, care for elderly parents, man the military, serve the monarchy etc.
Children often died before their parents. Childbirth was risky. Children were weak and helpless compared to healthy adults. Life was hard.
Maybe in the last 100 years this has changed in first world industrialized nations. We can afford to revere and cherish children because we’re not fighting for our survival against a constant threat of starvation, violence, disease and illness.
I feel bad for parents who have lost a child. It is an awful experience that I would wish for nobody.
Historically speaking, I don’t think it’s as rare as we have been led to believe.