If we keep breeding at our current rate, in six hundred years there will be one person per square yard of land; this figure doesn't guarantee that each person would be entitled to the square yard she represents. Every year there are more people in the world than there were the year before, but there is always the same amount of space. Who should be allowed to use that space? Does farmland go to the big company that will grow cash crops and bring in a lot of money, or the subsistence farmer who will be able to farm the land for much longer with less soil erosion? Is a valuable city block to be the sight of much needed low-income housing or a community-building public park?
For many of us, the answers to these question lie in the concept of good stewardship, whereby whoever makes the best use of space is entitled to it. But who decides what is the best use of space? The following pieces present some insight into the current power base of allocation, along with some suggestions for improvement.
Who Breeds
Who Builds
Who Grows