Stand on Zanzibar

Last week's Time had an article on Mormon polygamy, featuring a man who looked like he was in his early forties, with three comely wives a bit younger than he. The article was questioning the practice of having more than one wife at a time. I have no problem with a man or woman having more than one wife or husband. I have no problem with same-sex marriages. The man's wives all said they were happy with the arrangement. Then, the article went on to say, 18 of his 23 children were living with him. That raises two questions: Why were five of his children living apart from him and what could possess anyone to breed just for the sake of multiplying? How selfish. How thoughtless. The world now has over seven billion people, and we're still marching toward John Brunner's Stand on Zanzibar, where Brunner envisioned a world with too many inhabitants to find a place to stand on the island of Zanzibar. Shoulder to shoulder, squeezed together and yet some would still be standing in the water offshore. If we continue to breed like rabbits, or like the man and his three wives, the current novel might be called Stand on Africa. There may have been a time in the distant past when it was necessary to "go forth and multiply," just to preserve humanity. That need is long past, yet we still have people who selfishly procreate just because it feels so good, or because their religion tells them to do it. I say, Bah!