Re: AltInst: Tradable birth quotas

particularly well disposed to my "fellow" <snort> man.

Hal Finney
> > The fixed annual birth quotas
> > can be initially allocated to families with deaths according
> > to a variable births/deaths conversion ratio. These tradable
> > birth quotas with fixed expiration dates will permit families
> > to choose different numbers of children according to their
> > desire and ability. Tradable fixed annual birth quotas can
> > thus combine the macro-stability of a smaller stationary
> > population with the micro-flexibility of optimum allocation
> > of birth quotas.
> That's a funny idea. "How you feelin', gramps? You know we can't have
> any kids until you're dead. Don't want to rush you or anything..."
> I suppose "trading" birthrights means selling them. It wouldn't make
> much sense to trade a right to one birth for another. How much do you
> suppose they would go for? Even if you're not waiting for grandpa to die
> so you can have children, you'd be able to make some bucks off him.

        Well, it may seem a little sick, but a slightly different (and
IMO better) method of population control.

        See, up to now all methods have concentrated on preventing births,
with little or no thought as to how to insure that what is born is desirable.

        What we need to do is to reintroduce darwin back into the mix to find
some way of killing off those who don't have traits we (society) find
desirable.

        There are a couple different way (and this is off the top of my head
(and I am thinking on the fly here).

        First off, we need to prevent people from breeding until the can
pass the trials we lay out for them, so at first sign of being fertile/potent,
they temporarily made infertile/impotent.

The first method takes children as they near their 18th birthday (or some other
chosen "age of maturity" point), they are given a battery of tests, both
intellectual, and emotional the top <x> percent are given automatic passes on
the survival part. These tests don't attempt to measure raw intelligence, but
rather specific types of intelligence that a society may be in need of, or
that it finds both rare and desirable.

>From the age of 18 to the age of 19, these people are free roaming targets,
with anyone able to buy a permit to hunt them. This introduces the luck and
(somewhat) the survival aspects--No one will want to offer people in these
age groups jobs, nor will many be desired as students or whatever, I mean
hell, would you want to be around someone who could be shot at LEGALLY?

This also has the advantage of picking out the sickos in our society, afterall,
who would want a permit to randomly hunt down another human being.

Oh, and the 18-19 year olds are allowed to defend themselves.

The number of these permits could be adjusted based on population projections.

A second method is a greatly simplified version of the first. Simply sell
murder permits. Regulate the number of permits by the number of necessary
deaths. Buying a death permit also makes it open season on YOUR ASS.

A third method is another variation of the first, execpt instead of a year
of being hunted, you simple maintain a constant state of warfare, and grind up
x number of young men and women every year.

        Yes, some of these are taken all or in part from Science Fiction stories
I've read over the years, I'd attribute them. but I don't remember who.

        Yes, I'm somewhat serious, and don't think the first two are bad ideas,
but then my place of employment just decided to us M$ exchange, and I'd be
willing to purchase the 4 permits.

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Received on Sat Aug 8 01:42:56 1998