being conscious that:

1. the numeric growth of our species, after a very slow beginning lasting almost as much as its history, in the last few decades has suddenly become, and still now remains, hyperbolic: it has now crossed the threshold of the six billions people (an average of no less than 44 people for every square kilometer of habitable ground of this world), another billion of people are born about every 13 years, and the world population can double in a period between 50 and 100 years (see fig. 1);
   
   
2. the swift and uncontrolled population growth, and the urban and rural overcrowding that comes from it, are greatly responsible for the appearance of a climate of general exasperated competitiveness inside the human society; our natural, moderate competitive spirit becomes transfigured until our lives become a continual struggle for survival, with various and diverse inauspicious consequences ranging from the stress (and the numerous and frequent psychosomatic diseases that derive from it) to real phoenomena of terrible social violence ranging from simple popular disturbances to wars among nations1;
   
   
3. the swift and uncontrolled population growth is equally responsible for the entrapment of a great part of mankind into a condition of intolerable indigence, due to the difficulty of putting into place adequate and efficient social organizations and more advanced technological tools in the brief time allowed by a world population that doubles every few decades;

also being conscious that:

1. Planet Earth, and all of us with it, are already now suffering the awful effects of the numerous and widespread environmental disorders due to confused hyper-activity and to the propensity of exorbitant wastefulness of a small part of the world population;
   
   
2. such disorders are nothing compared to what will happen when the entire population of the Planet reaches an even barely dignified standard of living (and who doesn't hope that this happens as soon as possible?);
   
   
3. it is by now evident that causes of pollution and environmental degrade are not so much particular kinds of technology and substances as much as the massive use that we make of them, whatever they may be, to the point that even the cleanest, most healthy technologies and substances in the hands of too many automatically become unhealthy and causes of alteration in the eco-systems;
   
   
4. relying exclusively on strategies like limiting the consumptions of resources fundamental for human life, we will not do other than make the problem atrociously worse: more population would be added to that already existing, making the planetary overcrowding even heavier, and the related problems completely unsolvable;

recognizing that:

1. despite resorting on all the possible artifices, an excessive population remains excessive, and this is a cause of problems for the Planet and in and of itself, because of the population's fundamental physical and mental needs, and that there is already on the Earth a critical number of people: this is dangerous both because of the exorbitant squanderings of a part of the population and for its great total number;
   
   
2. it is necessary to transform, as soon as possible, the economy of the more developed countries (an economy that is anti-economic, as it is based on this unwise waste and it is a prey to a strong productivity degeneration) not only in order to lead these countries toward a correct, more moderated and sound, way of behaving, but also to facilitate the emerging countries in their search for a model of ideal development --all of us on the Earth having the common aim to avoid continuing down, or starting down, a way without an exit;
   
   
3. this transformation, already in and of itself extremely complex and difficult for the great interests involved, is made even more arduous by the swift and uncontrolled growth of the population, as this is a sure basis and powerful engine of an economy that is similarly frenzied, irresponsible, and savage2;
   
   
4. there exists an immediate necessity for which the world human community must provide: not only to defend the natural environment and to preserve its resources, but also to stifle the centers of violence already existing and to avoid other wars, and to preserve the psychophysical well-being of mankind and to arrange for every human being on the Earth to have the necessities of life, growth, and joy, an indispensable part of which is to stop the population growth;
   
   
5. without having satisfied this fundamental necessity, no other end can really be reached: not healing of the eco-systems, nor peace, nor the well-being of the person, nor the spread of a wiser, more conscious and educated economy, which just for these new characteristics would be much more profitable than the present3;

considered also that:

1. after a period of fixed confinement on the Earth, beginning from the time of its appearance, mankind has now embarked on the exploration of the immense space around the globe, and in a not so distant future, epochally speaking, will be able to begin populating other worlds, natural and artificial, of this wonderful Cosmos;
   
   
2. a voluntary pause in our demographic expansion could then have the threefold positive effect of saving us from an inauspicious future of hyper-crowding our Planet, of letting us heal and solve all the damages and the problems that we have caused and met with till now, and facilitating us in carrying out a general reorganization in view of the further phase of expansion (but this time in Space);

we ardently hope that:

1. people globally, diffusely, and widely take consciousness of the phenomenon of the excessively swift and uninterrupted growth of population, of the already present offences that we are reciprocally bringing to ourselves because of it, of the greater danger that is threatening us in consequence of our further numerical increase, and of the great opportunity in the hands of mankind to allow itself a Voluntary Pause of Demographic Expansion;
   
   
2. the awareness of the immediate need of a global, clear and rational plan of mankind's numeric growth will spread in the world; this plan should contemplate a sufficiently large lapse of time to let us put in order and in agreement earthly priorities and desires for expansion. To this end special researches centers and governmental commissions should be instituted;

finally verifying that:

1. the human reproduction is still a subject of different, various, and often exaggerated sensitivity by every one of the six billions people living on the Planet;
   
   
2. for this reason, far from being known in its manifold aspects, effects, and threats, the theme of our demographic growth seems to be the last taboo in a society that paradoxically makes information its highest means and aim4;

we engage ourselves:

1. to be personally involved in the study of the demographic problem, as we do not like to be informed when it is too late, much less be commanded on things that we do not know, while we enjoy the sense of personal responsibility and participation in social life. First of all, we will deeply document ourselves on the demographic issue, then organize meetings and study groups in which to seriously and carefully consider it. Far from trying to impose on someone else our vision of things, we'll endeavour to let pure reality emerge in our conversations, together with its real demands;
   
   
2. to contribute to the spreading of the results of this our common work, writing to schools and institutes, to sanitary, cultural, and religious associations, to newspapers, radios, televisions, and the movie world, to representatives and governments, in order that our awarenesses and wills be at last truly received and carried into effect5.

The researchers of the
Laboratorio Eudemonia

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This graphic reminds us that:

1. a phoenomenon with such an high growth easily keeps company with episodes of sharp and inauspicious reversal of tendency. Observing the very steep curve of the demographic growth, it is not at all rash to think that it could have a sudden reshuffling for some motive inside the phoenomenon itself and the system in which it happens. The terrible fact is that whatever reshuffling, here, would mean the disappearing of a huge number of people: in the case of an adjustement of the curve (as it is named by the analysts of graphics) close to 10% (that is a percentage not out-of-place, considered the particular characteristics of this phoenomenon), the matter would be no less than 600.000.000 of human lives lost!
   
   Certainly, it is never good to make simple conjectures, but there could be however a lot of sense in thinking to mitigate ourselves today the ascent of that curve, in order to try avoiding sharp "adjustements" tomorrow.
   
   
2. the more the number of human beings compelled in the restricted space of this Planet will increase, the more the value of every one of them will lower in the eyes of other people, according to a definite universal law. Fairly often, that is rare is precious, that is numerous has scarce value. Till the matter in hand is a relation that regards diamonds and coal pieces, the thing is not so much noteworthy. However, as this law is provided with a certain degree of universality, it is not senseless to extend it to ourselves: we must take care we don't become so numerous to such a pass that everyone's life become of little value for other people, if not quite of negative value. It is certain much better to be prudent and to prevent than to spend then time in mourning who passed away and in punishing who remains.
   
   
3. the more roughly the number of we human beings will increase on Planet Earth, the more rough will be the reaction we must expect by it. We cannot think to have this Planet at our disposal as if were entirely dominated by our wishes. If till now the Earth has silently put up with our expansion, that doesn't show it will continue doing so also when we will swarm on it in even greater quantity.
   
   At least to be sure of its future benevolence, we must realize the need to leave not peopled vast areas of our Planet. We must do that both in order to have wide research laboratories, and to leave sufficient space of free expression to the Earth; but we must do that, also because prudent and trustworthy persons never exaggerate, swallowing without reserve that is so politely offered them.

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Nota 1

The phoenomenon itself of the growing acute of the economic competition (that is the first cause of social malaises of various kind and measure, as well as of quite a lot of forms of hypertrophic production), is not so much under the will of the economists and included in a clear plan of development, as on the contrary is originated from, and permanent under the influence of, the swift and uncontrolled population growth.

It is important to notice how much the modern societies, that are based on specialistic forms of organization that ignore by statute the global vision of the things, are very able to reach circumscribed aims, but how much are equally unprepared in the presence of situations that are characterized by a certain width.

Think: till this moment, almost the whole medical class (both those who attend to the body and those who attend to the mind of the individual) has accepted quite passively the situation born of the demographic hyper-growth and the relative overcrowding, as if it ignored the deleterious effects on the persons. That is somewhat worrying, and even more worrying is the fact that the physicians believe to make prevention subjecting us to an infinite series of sanitary analyses rather than actively intervening inside the society in order to keep sound the rural and civic environments. Never a cry for alarm from them, never not even the idea of an intervention in an issue of such a great importance!

Also if we are glad for the results reached by them in the treatment of certain diseases, we cannot not become sad for their absence in helping us to avoid those insalubrious conditions of life that are very often the origin of those diseases themselves.

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Nota 2

An economy that bases itself on the market has an energetic propellent in the demographic hyper-growth, as this makes dreadfully increase the number of the possible customers. Without considering that the great Corporations find working force at a very low cost in the armies of desperates who live in the poorest Countries (here the demographic growth is enormously greater than elsewhere), and similarly find precious raw materials at a nearly free cost in the natural resources of these same Countries.

We must consider, then, that also from a moral point of view it would be extremely difficult to try limiting the economies in any way on a Planet that continued to be always more loaded with hungries.

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Nota 3

Think that, having stabilized the number of the inhabitants of the Planet and, thanks to that, having also beginned a process of deep healing of the economies, it wouldn't be difficult to distribute in a mathematically fair way the work, realizing at long last the dream to see every human being with his/her Minimum Guaranteed Income. Through a more rational (more thrifty and less lavish) economy, also to overcome the future question of the aging of the population, caused by the previous absolute lack of demographic programming, will no more a problem.

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Nota 4

In our hyper-organized and hyper-connected society, it is rather difficult to present facts and truths that, even if objective the firsts and valid the seconds, could hurt the other people's susceptibility. All of us have clients, connections, practices, all of us are dependent on other people to get a living. That happens even more to journalists, opinion makers, politicians, who have often considerable difficulties to present problems that could result disagreable to their clients and for this reason to alienate them. This great obstacle must be for us still more as a spur to personally attend to the demographic issue, also to the end to facilitate the following work of those who have a relation of narrow and difficult interdependence with the masses.

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Nota 5

Whatever be the Country in which we live, both if it is still at low or if already at high density of people, both if the effects of the world demographic hyper-growth are already strongly visible or not, the situation is however such as to ask for an immediate and decided engagement. The problem in fact has a global character and involve in one way or another even the most remote corners of the world. For this reason it is well that every one, in every Country, furnishs a contribute toward the solution of the problem, a contribute that could be also as an example for those, in certain Countries, who less seem pay attention to this urgency.

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