Eile £idiian DaU
Eighty-Five Years of Editorial Freedom
Edited and managed by students at the University of Michigan
Friday, March 28, 1975
News Phone: 764-0552
420 Maynard St., Ann Arbor, Mi. 48104
Hardin: An obscene theory
"SCIENCE FOR THE People", a new-
ly formed group of faculty, grad-
uate students and community mem-
bers, deserves credit for its sensible
decision to hold a teach-in last night
following the lecture delivered by
Garrett Hardin, ecologist - biologist
and author of the insidious "life-
boat" theory.
The selection of Garrett Hardin
to deliver the Marston Bates Me-
morial Lecture was a cruelly ironic
one which perturbed many who knew
Bates. Bates was a humanitar-
ian who would have been repulsed
by Hardin's brand of social Darwin-
ism. "Science for the People", there-
fore, invited four speakers to explain
why Hardin's "ethics" are not jus-
tified by the facts.
The "teach-in" was a constructive
alternative to the obstructionism of
the type which erupted during the
speech of President Katzir earlier this
month.
Mr. Hardin's horrifying notions.
clearly merited a prompt rebottle.
According to his theory, the rich na-
tions of the world are adrift on a
lifeboat. In the ocean outside each
lifeboat swim the poor of the world
who would like to get in, or at least
try to share some of the wealth.We
could try to take everyone aboard,
he says, but we would sink the life-
boat if we did!
Departing, from analogy, Mr. Har-
din bluntly told a House subcommit-
tee that we would be doing a favor
to starving countries as well as our-
selves if we refused to send them any
more food. Hardin's "The Tragedy of
the Commons" even proposed com-
pulsory birth control. It stated "The
only way we can preserve and main-
tain other and more precious free-
doms is by relinquishing the free-
dom to breed, and that very soon!"
Quite properly, Roger Rovelle of
the Center for Population Studies at
Harvard termed the "Lifeboat" ethic
obscene. In Science Magazine he call-
ed upon developed countries to pledge
capital and technical assistance for
agricultural modernization in the
poor countries. Clearly, adequate
nutrition must be recognized as a
universal human right, applicable to
the poor everywhere.
In Scientific American Rovelle went
on to say that the potentially arable
land in the world could feed between
10 and 13 times the present popula-
tion of the world. He concluded:
"The limiting factors are not ma-
terial resources but economic, insti-
tutional, and socio - political re-
straints." Hardin dangerously fails
to note this.
In Latin America, for example,
landowners find it more profitable
to grow cash crops like sugar and
coffee instead of staples which could
feed the population. In the Sahel
region of Africa, where drought and
famine are rampant, thousands of
the best areas and a large share of
the scarce water supplies are assign-
ed by "multinational agribusiness
corporations" to the production not
of foodstuffs for the native popula-
tion, but for raw materials and oth-
er products for marketing in the de-
veloped world.
The Transnational In s t i t u t e
trenchantly said "Hunger is caused
by plunder and not by scarcity." Pre-
sently upwards of 400 million peo-
ple are, in the words of Robert Mc-
Namara, "on the margin of life". Not
feeding them is criminal.
A renti~i
By TIM SMITH
SCENE: Save and Screw Apartment Company in a
typical university town. It is the day of the lease
signing, but before the lease is to be signed, Ernie
presents the secretary with a list of things that he
wants fixed before the next year.
ERNIE: I hope you don't mind listening to a few gripes
about the apartment. I thought it would be better
to air them before the lease is signed. You under-
stand.
SEC.: Oh, not at all. We're always happy to listen.
ERNIE: Good. Well first of all there's this seven inch
hole in the living room rug, then the dish washer
doesn't work, the john leaks, the curtains are like
rags, and one of the beds is - wait a minute,
aren't you going to write any of this down?
SEC.: Why no. I told you I'm always happy to listen.
If you make me write I won't be happy, and if I
am not happy you won't be happy, because I can't
listen while I'm not happy. You understand.
ERNIE: Well, aren't you going to do anything about
these problems?
SEC.: Sure, I'll listen.
ERNIE: Wait! One of the windows is even broken!
SEC.: Sounds awful.
ERNIE: The refrigerator door is so bent that it doesn't
even close properly. All the cold air comes out!
SEC.: Hey.. . you're catching on.
ERNIE: But isn't there anything that can be done?
SEC.: Sure, sign the lease.
ERNIE: What? Are you kidding? What if I told you
I wanted my deposit money back?
SEC.: I'd tell you to go sit on a carrot and twist. You
can't have it.
1
p1
i ta ie o
ERNIE: Why not?!
SEC.: We spent it already.
ERNIE: You spent it? On what?!
SEC.: We used it to get rid of the mice in the apart-
ment.
r
terro rs
sterical.
ERNIE: Well, you DAMN WELL BETTER LISTEN!
We will 'not live in that swamp. I'm not Euell
Gibbons, the only wildlife I want in that apart-
ment is the female kind - the female HUMAN
kind - not rodents!
SEC.: But they're not a problem all year long. The
spring floods usually drown them.
ERNIE: The SPRING FLOODS! GOD NO! TELL ME
WHAT ELSE IS WRONG?! TELL ME, I'VE GOT
TO KNOW BEFORE IT'S TOO LATE!
SEC.: Oh, nothing else . .. that we know of.
ERNIE: That YOU know of?! Well I'm going over
there and talk to the girls that live there now.
SEC.: Oh, I wouldn't do that. It's only ten in the morn-
ing. They're probably just going to bed after a long
nights work.
ERNIE: Oh they work nights, eh? Well, I'll go see
them tonight at work then.
SEC.: Well, I wouldn't do that either - unless you
make an appointment first and bring money.
ERNIE: Do you mean that they're PROSTI ...
SEC.: Only at night.
ERNIE: I don't believe this! You want to rent us
a floating hotel - complete with living hors
D'oeuvres!
SEC.: Well . . . it does pay their rent.
ERNIE: GOD - LET ME OUT - I'M LEAVING! I'M
GOING TO LIVE IN THE DORM AGAIN! I
WOULDN'T LIVE IN YOUR PLACE IF.. . IF .. .
IF THE DORM HELD A . . . A LOTTERY AND
KICKED ME OUT! GOODBYE!
SEC.: See ya soon.
Tim Smith is an LSA sophomore soon to be in Ar-
chitecture and Design.
-Daily Photo by STU HOLLANDER
ERNIE: THE MICE! How did the mice get in there?!
SEC.: We let them in.
ERNIE: YOU WHAT?!
SEC.: To help get rid of the termites.
ERNIE: The TERMITES?!
SEC.: Yes, but enough of this. We're getting side-
tracked. You said you wanted to talk about your
problems. Besides, I can't listen while you're hy-
PIRGIM SUMMER INTERNSHIP
Experience,
By AMY STONE small file cabin
"QPEND THIS Summer as a desk for one st
PIRGIM Intern," c o m- while others mah
manded the poster. mic use of re
The demands of law schoal 1930 desks.
leave little time for students to Quotable quote
worry about anything but their walls and range
day-to-day' assignments, a n (I I lime .. .
had given little thought to how "I think that, a
I would spend the now fast ap- and passion, it is
proaching summer. man that he sh
The chances of finding a clerk- passion and atic
ing job in a plush law office are at peril of being
thinner than slim for first-year have lived." (C
students, so I read the PIRGIM Holmes, Jr.)
recruitment ad with more than
mere curiosity. to the absurd . .
The poster promised interns a "Adulterated ci
chance to cure society of a person within th
myriad of ills. My youthful manufacturers, se
idealism had survived the 60's, any one, any cig
and although I had opted to ing any ingredie
leave the Peace Corps to more to health or fore
adventuresome types, a chance shall be guilty of
to promote social change close er." (Section 27
to home hooked that part of me Code, MCL 750.
still wanting to meet the chal- winner of PIRGI
lenges of the decade. Month contest).
Besides, I relished tha pros-
pect of telling my frisnds and THAT PLEASA
family I planed to spend the feeling quickly v
summer revolutionizing Amer- ever, as an aggr
ica. I sent in an appli-ation. three-person team
ON INTERVIEW day 1ds- terview. They sp
covered the PIRGIM s t a t e an hour scrutinizi
headquarters to be a less than tials and achie
intimidating place. Very down- posing difficult q
home, in fact. sibly designed to
The office decor is fashion- creative respons
ably eslectic. A door over two Some questions
insight and some change
ets serves as
aff member,
ke good econo-
cycled vintage
es adw >ri t h e
from the sub-
as life is action
required of a
ould shiar the
on of his time
judged riot to
Dliver Wendell
garettes - any
he state who
ells or gives to
'arette cntaim-
ent dela-*'rious
ign to tobac-o
a miIemean-
of the Pena,
26. May 19'4
M's Law-of-the
NT down--hone
vanished, hcw-
ressiv wly polite
n began the in-
ent more than
ing my cr--den-
vements and
uestions osten-
elicit my most
es.
were a o it
beyond my scope (how would I
solve the energy cr' ;,s?) but I
told myself that even R a I p h
Nader would have been some-
what at a loss to prov:de all-en-
compassing answers.
Fortunately, PIRGIM decded
to take me on and I nappily
agreed to work with PIRGM's
legal director on a Freedom
of Information pro1ect designed
to improve citizen access to
government informati w.
The job, exciting and chal-
lenging as promised, aLso prov-
ed to be fraught with the diffi-
culties indigenous to a low-bud-
get operation.
FINDING A wo-k rea proved
to be a substantial problem. in-
chiding five summer interns,
staff outnumbered t h e desks.
After initial hesitation, : learn-
ed to play that popular PIRGiM
game musical desk. I knew I
had achieved experise when I
could secure a de.k, us, it, and
return its contenrs to their
original state of order (or dis-
order) leaving no evidence for
the true owner I had evfn been
there.
Development of a PIRGIM
project follows a tr ed and true
pattern. One identifies the prob-
lem, then formulates the goaLs
anda methodology to reach the
goals.
But even the ma. car efu'ly
designed methodology will n c t
always achieve fruition. in mv
case, we discovercd midway
through the sum ner that Plan
A had to go. Thos, I learned
that public in-are vt work, us-
ually exciting an.i rewai Ing,
is not without Lruia ins.
joyed the expe ice.
If you'd like !o aonay for the
1975 program, s b'nit a resume
including yow.' address, teoe-
phone number, ihe nmes and
addresses of two or m"'e refer-
ences, a sample of yoar writing
"Development of a PIRGIM project follows
u tried andl true pattern. One identifies t h e
problem, then formulates the goals and a meth-
odology to reach t0fe goals."
Congress meeting challenge
TN THE SHUFFLE of an unprece-
dented Presidential transition
last summer the advice of several
liberal economists, that the nation
needed a tax cut to halt the eco-
nomic downslide, went unnoticed.
And the new President, like his
predecessor, was far more concerned
with fighting inflation than reces-
sion. As recently as October he was
considering a tax hike and other
measures to cool the mercurial up-
swing of the price level.
But as the evidence came in dur-
ing November and December, as one-
quarter of the auto workers began
to draw unemployment benefits, and
as the housing market plummeted to
new lows, the grim truth became
apparent that a depression was in
the offing unless immediate steps
were taken.
And so, unhappy ideologically but
convinced pragmatically, Ford an-
nounced his support for a tax reduc-
tion in January. Still a fiscal conser-
TODAY'S STAFF:
News: Susan Ades, Glen Allerhand,
Steve Hersh, Jo Marcotty, T o m
Preston, Jeff Sorensen
Editorial Page: Paul Haskins, M a r a
Letica, Stephen Selbst, Steve Stojic
Arts Page: Jim Valk
Photo Technician: Steve Kagan
vative, Ford could give the proposal
he sent to Congress only lukewarm
support, originally offering a small
reduction, then upping the level to
$16.2 billion.
THIS HAS BEEN the tradition in
. American politics for the last
quarter-century. The President pro-
poses, and even the Congress reacts.
A considerable body of political sci-
ence literature grew up in that time
to rationalize the inability of the
Congress to initiate policy proposals.
But the pattern has been chang-
ing since Nixon's forced resignation.
The do-nothing label will never be
applied to this Congress. Acting
swiftly, both houses passed tax re-
lief packages much larger than
Ford's proposal.
The conference was brief and am-
icable, and the resultant package
calls for a nearly $25 billion slash in
tax collection. The bill runs counter
to Ford's policies, and the President,
under pressure from Federal Reserve
Chairman Arthur Burns, may well
veto the bill as excessive.
THE NATION IS still a long way
from being out of the weeds;
this program isn't a panacea. But it
is comprehensive and bold. More
than that it's necessary and attacks
the recession head on;the President's
fails to do so. For their diligence and
energy, members of Congress deserve
a strong measure of praise.
THE FREEDOM of I o ma-
ion project, th)u' h a !ite be-
hind schedule, is comig along
nicely, and it ao)ks as though
the results will sv tie light of
day very soon.
Mine was to "e a ..mnnier
stint, but I found myself s 11
working with PJRGIM thrcugh
December. In Octooer, I had
the opportunity to teetifv f r
PIRGIM before the Na-ural ke-
sources Commis:. z' on 'Ye
adoption of admnfsirathie rules
on records ace s. Well, M ite-
volutionizing America caa't be
done in one ,um.ner, but I en-
ability, previous relevaat Pxper-
iences (if any), and any other
information wrien may' prvide
an indication >f -our pontial
for success in tle program.
Mail the appli ration to. PiR-
GIM Intern Program, 615 E.
Michigan Ave., Lan-.:g, Mich-
igan 48933.
They even nay $60 for the
summer!
Amy S/one is a student at
Lansing'sCooley Law School, an
LSA grad and former PIRGIM
summer intern.
Letters
to
The
Daily
ERIM
To The Daily:
THANK YOU for the notice
of the then-pending publication
of my contribution to the under-
standing of the ERIM research
matter.
As nearly always happens in
human affairs, a few misprints
occurred. I amnot writing to
demand publication or correc-
tions, but do want to put you on
notice about two which I feel
changed the meaning from what
I had written. Where this may
me worth-while is only if any
reader responses prove to be
based on these erors (above all,
don't publish that last awkward
sentence.)
Both of the erors I am re-
ferring to were in the I a s t
column. Near the top, my
words "one of the few much-
publicized . . ." became "one
of the new . . .". To call the
practicaly obsolete U-2 a "new"
device is not very realistic.
(NASA is still flying a couple
of them,, painted in bright, vis-
ible colors instead of their old
traditional flat black.)
Farther down in that column,
my "doing faulty testing" be-
came "doing faculty testing":
- perhaps an example of an
'academic slip'? This error of-
fers readers an opportunity to
ponder what University-connect-
ed skulduggery I might be re-
fering to, whereas no such con-
nections were implied by my
original text.
Finally, my intended quota-
tions above are from memory,
which is also humanly fallible.
I am sure of the key words
that are underlined, but some
of the surrounding ones may
differ from the originals. Be
adaptable -- that's as hinan
as one can get.
-Richard B. Innes
March 26
Camnbodia
To The Daily:
LAST WEEK President Ford
posed the following question to
the American people: "Will we
stand idly by and permit a
bloodbath in Cambodia?" This
question, unfortunately, flatters
the American people into be-
lieving not only that they re-
present the forces of moral
righteousnes in the world but
implies that Americans weild
more power than they actually
do. Furthermore, it complfetely
ignores America's historical role
in the area.
Let us not forget that in the
1940's the United States sup-
plied money and munitions to
the corrupt Nationalist Chinese
"government' under Generalhs-
simo Chiang Kai-shek, though
the Comunists were more effec-
tive in mobilizing the population
against the Japanese aggres-
sors. The Nationalist "soldiers"
were removed for their cruelty
towards Chinese villagers and ac-
tually flooded a dam, killing
thousands of Chinese, 'as the
"army" ran away from a Jap-
anese advance. When in 1949 it
became apparent that the Na-
tionalists were despised by the
people and had no base of sup-
port, they moved to Taiwan.
There, they killed large numb-
ers of inhabitants only t w o
years after they savagely sup-
"Republicans" accuse the
"Democrats" in Congress of
"losing" Cambodia, or e v e n
worse, of causing a "blood-
bath"? Will they point to South
Vietnam, a portion of a country
that was raped, tortured and
blown apart by the American
military complex and say wilh
a straight face, as William Saf-
fire did, "Nixon's Vietnam za-
tion program worked; after li,
there is no communist flag in
Saigon, is there?"
Many Americans still recall
the lonely depression they felt
upon hearing ofbthe senseless
"Christmas bombings". 0 u r
dear Mr. Kissinger will not ne-
gotiate with the Cambodian peo-
ple now, however, because this
honorable nation will only "re-
gotiate" from a position of
"strength." The Liberated Daily
summarized Henry's tactics
well: "You take the carrot we
offer you or we bash your head
in with the stick!"
A MAJOR FAULT of our .ov-
ernment institutions, as illus-
trated by the investigation com-
mittees of the Watergate acci-
dent, is its failure to exam-
ine contemporary problems in
historical perspective. 0 n r
government asks questions like
"Is Calley innocent or guilty?",
not "Why were Calley's actions
standard procedure?"
I would like to see congres-
sional committees and all peo-
ple of this country ponder the
following questions: Why has
our government tried to trans-
form self-sufficient agrarian nu-
tions which were beginning to
industrialize into crippled and
corrupt totalitarian ones, kaow-
Katzir
To The Daily:
LET IT BE recorded and pro-
tested that on Wednesday,
March 12, at 4:20 p.m. in the
Rackham Lecture Hall of the
University of Michigan, freedom
of speech received a grievous
blow. An honored guest of this
university, Ephraim Katzir,
President of Israel, was on the
podium speaking gracefully and
humanely on the occasion of be-
ing awarded an honorary Droctor
of Laws - in the presence of
President Fleming, Regents,
and Regents-Emeriti. At that
moment, a sizeable group~ of
rowdies interrupted Katzir and
continued to disrupt the proceed-
ings for some twenty minutes.
Afterrnumerous warnings from
the rostrum these enemies of
decency had to be evicted by
the police.
We, the undersigned, wish to
express our outrage at this at-
tack on the humanity of dis-
course that is the hallmark of a
university. It is not only a dis-
tinguished guest of the univer-
sity that was dishonored - the
University of Michigan ;tself
was dishonored.
WE URGE all who revere de-
cency, freedom, and humane be-
havior to help restore these con-
cepts to our campus. March 12,
1975 will; alas, remain a tragic
blot in the history of our uni-
versity. The hurt is deep and
cannot be easily mended. Those
who participated in this das-
tardly action have no M 1 a c e
among decent men.
M~CMO'ro M~&6LF
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