Holistic problem lies with growth of population
IBELIEVE the word “holistic” was coined by a famous South African, Jan Smuts, whose statue sits, looking rather uncomfortable, at the top of Adderley Street. (He really does look as though he is sitting on a The holistic theory says that nothing happens in isolation, as everything is part of a larger system. The system may be your body, your city, your country or the entire universe.
A simple example: A company installs a mechanised shelf-packing system that does the work of three people in half the time. Two workers become redundant and are retrenched. Having no qualifications they are unable to find alternate employment so they join the growing ranks of the jobless. Jobless people need to eat just like everyone else, and to feed their families. So in desperation one of them attacks a hiker on the mountain and steals money and a cellphone to sell or swop for food. The hiker dies. You could say that hiker’s death in Cape Town occurred because some genius in Japan invented a clever shelf-packing machine. Everything is linked.
Part of our city’s water crisis is because the city population is growing at a scarily rapid rate, while the water supply is not. Dr Kevin Winter of UCT mentions this in his recent report on the city’s water scarcity. He says urbanisation and population growth are adding to our water problems. Tavern reader Mark Voges called to tell me he had studied graphs showing population growth and the rising rate of unemployment, and the two are growing further and further apart, leading to the depressing conclusion that joblessness will only become worse.
As the population grows our informal housing areas become increasingly densely packed, so rescue services are unable to fight fires. As the population grows our schools become increasingly overcrowded, so the ratio of teachers to pupils becomes diluted to the extent that teachers can no longer offer individual coaching where it is needed. The drop-out rate worsens, the crime rate increases.
I always feel a wave of gratitude when I see workers sweeping streets or clearing weeds from storm water furrows. They may be doing unskilled work but at least they are feeding their families. I see car guards in a similar light.
Looked at holistically, society seems to have missed a clue – most of our problems can be traced back to population growth. Our previous state president didn’t seem partially enthusiastic about slowing population growth, but maybe our new and more enlightened leadership will find time to give the matter some thought. Maybe an information campaign could be launched, pointing out the benefits of having smaller families. This might have been rather embarrassing during the previous regime, but it should be acceptable now. I remember a previous campaign featuring a conversation between a jackal and a lion. “I may have only one child, while you have four, but my child is a LION.”
Last Laugh
A sweet little old lady was surprised when one of her two cats gave birth to a litter of kittens.
“I can’t understand it,” she told the vet. “She never goes out of the flat so she can’t have been in contact with any boy cats.” The vet pointed to a big black tom cat curled up on the sofa. “What about him?” he asked. “Oh, don’t be ridiculous,” said the lady. “That’s her brother.”