Planet Earth Has Sufficient Natural Resources for All Humankind, But …

It’s the birthday of humorist and poet Don Marquis, who, before he died in 1937, left us with this:  I have noticed that when chickens quit quarreling over their food they often find that there is enough for all of them. I wonder if it might not be the same with the human race.

This made all the sense in the world in his age.  It was the days of the anarchists, of Trotsky, almost 20 years after “The war to end all wars.”  It was a short period in history when it really did appear possible that humankind actually might find a way to co-exist harmoniously on Earth. 

Our culture, featuring, as it does, billionaires racing to get into space while their employees are living on food stamps, has gone about as far in the opposite direction as could be imagined.

What will happen when climate change makes large swaths of the planet uninhabitable?  May this force a kind of coming together?  We may find out.