Rebecca Siddall

“It’s Easier to Kill a Guerilla in the Womb than in the Mountains”: Examining 1970s Science for the People Articles about Population Control

SOCIAL ANTHROPOLOGY
HISTORY OF SCIENCE
ABSTRACT

Keywords: social justice, Science for the People, intersectionality, feminism, population control


Received: July 20, 2022
Revision recieved: September 5, 2022
Accepted: September 7, 2022
Published: October 4, 2022

INTRODUCTION

SECTION 1: HISTORICAL CONTEXT

SECTION 2: SftP PERSPECTIVES ON POPULATION CONTROL

SECTION 3: RECOGNITION OF SftP CONTRIBUTORS’ OWN PRIVILEGE

INTERDISCIPLINARY COMMENTARY

PSYCHOLOGY

Population control: An impact game rather than a numbers game
Cristina Costea
Magdelene College, University of Cambridge

This commentary discusses two interpretations of population control: influence on future populations (a contentious issue) and influence on existing populations. It analyses motivations for interventions, ethical considerations, and intersectional effects on populations. It discusses two methods through which immediate actions can be undertaken to mediate human impact on the environment.

NATURAL SCIENCES

Examining the motivations behind population control efforts in 1970s US: An ecological perspective
Daisy Cooper
Queen’s College, University of Cambridge

When the ecological definition of overpopulation is considered, it brings into question the validity of arguments made in the 1970s by US population control supporters. Specifically, it questions the assumption that ethnic subpopulations can be overpopulated, while the majority of the population is not, since it is unlikely that these different groups would operate in entirely separate niches. This lends support to the argument that alternative motivators were underlying these population control efforts, specifically that they were used to extend imperialistic power dynamics.


REFERENCES