The politician is the greatest danger to mankind

High praise indeed but is growth really the panacea for success our politicians would have us believe? These are the same politicians who have already had decades of growth to ply their trade and have succeeded only in bringing our nation to its knees under the burden of unprecedented debt.

Perhaps now is the time to examine the justification for this political obsession with growth. Essentially, growth refers to a growing market and for that to happen more customers are needed. This equates to a rise in population which in turn places a greater strain on infrastructure with schools and hospitals struggling to cope with demand. Green spaces are sacrificed for the building of homes to accommodate this increasing population of which many are migrants.

Government have, for many years, encouraged immigration and more recently migration, in the belief this would stimulate demand needed to maintain growth in the economy. Only recently have the politicians begun to publicly acknowledge the failure of that policy. Roads also become congested and there is a greater demand for natural resources, particularly fossil fuels, which inevitably increases pollution. We know that pollution poisons the air we breathe, the water we drink and food we eat but yet we accept without argument this spiral of self-destructive growth prescribed by the political classes.

In reality, growth, as advocated by the politician, is impossible to sustain with mountains of evidence indicating the dangers of overpopulation. This would suggest to any rational person that they must abandon such a ridiculous concept as perpetual growth and turn their attention towards population management. Unfortunately experience has taught us that if we are seeking rational thought or action from our elected leaders we can expect to be disappointed.

Although it has long been recognised that the greatest danger to humanity is the human race itself by far its most damaging incarnation has been the politician.

John Cave

Caernarvon Avenue, Burnley