"The Taking Sides" series is a debate-style reader designed to introduce students to current global controversies and world issues. The readings, which represent the arguments of leading political scientists, social commentators, and experts in the field, reflect a variety of viewpoints, and are presented in pro/con format. Dushkin Online is a student Web site designed to support "Taking Sides" titles.

Table of Contents:
PART 1. Global Population Growth ISSUE 1. Is World Population Growth Out of Control? YES: Michael Tobias, from World War III: Population and the Biosphere at the End of the Millennium (Continuum, 1998) NO: Max Singer, from "The Population Surprise," The Atlantic Monthly (August 1999) Author Michael Tobias argues that there can be no doubt that under virtually all plausible scenarios of future global population growth, such growth will continue at unprecedented levels and will cause accelerated damage to the planet. Max Singer, cofounder of the Hudson Institute, a public policy research organization, contends that the world's population will be declining in 50 years as a consequence of an increasing number of countries' achieving a higher level of modernity. ISSUE 2. Should the International Community Attempt to Curb Population Growth in the Developing World? YES: Robert S. McNamara, from "The Population Explosion," The Futurist (November--December 1992) NO: Julian L. Simon, from The Ultimate Resource 2 (Princeton University Press, 1996) Robert S. McNamara, former president of the World Bank, argues that the developed countries of the world and international organizations should help the countries of the developing world to reduce their population growth rates. The late professor of economics and business administration Julian L. Simon maintains that international organizations seek to impose birth control methods on developing nations in the misguided name of "virtuous and humanitarian! motives." ISSUE 3. Does Population Growth Significantly Harm the Earth's Quality of Life? YES: Don Hinrichsen, from "6,000,000,000 Consumption Machines," International Wildlife (September/October 1999) NO: N. Gregory Mankiw, from "Be Fruitful and Multiply," Fortune (September 7, 1998) Don Hinrichsen, an environmental reporter and a consultant for the United Nations Population Fund, argues that the planet's natural systems and ecological systems are having increasing difficulty withstanding the negative consequences of continuing population growth. Economics professor N. Gregory Mankiw maintains that, assuming each additional person on Earth creates resources, if the amount created by each new individual is greater than the amount used by that individual, then the Earth's quality is enhanced by the presence of that individual. ISSUE 4. Will Declining Population Growth Rates in the Developed World Lead to Major Problems? YES: Peter G. Peterson, from "Reforms That Aging Industrial Countries Must Undertake," Luncheon Address to a CSIS Policy Summit on Global Aging (January 25--26, 2000) NO: Leon F. Bouvier and Jane T. Bertrand, from World Population: Challenges for the Twenty-First Century (Seven Locks Press, 1999) Peter G. Peterson, chairman of the Blackstone Group, a private investment bank, argues that global aging will dominate the public-policy agenda of the developed world as it attempts to cope with a vast array of problems associated with such aging. Adjunct professor of demography Leon F. Bouvier and Jane T. Bertrand, chair of the Department of International Health and Development at Tulane University School of Public Health and Tropical Medicine, argue that a future developed society will be quite able to cope with declining growth rates. PART 2. Global Resources and the Environment ISSUE 5. Is Environmental Degradation Worsening? YES: United Nations Environment Programme, from Global Environment Outlook 2000 (Earthscan, 1999) NO: Peter Huber, from "Wealth Is Not the Enemy of the Environment," Vital Speeches of the Day (April 1, 2000) The United Nations Environment Programme presents a comprehensive and gloomy assessment of the global environment at the turn of the millennium. Peter Huber, a senior fellow of the Manhattan Institute, contends that humankind is saving the Earth with the technologies that the "soft greens" most passionately oppose. ISSUE 6. Should the World Continue to Rely on Oil as a Major Source of Energy? YES: Hisham Khatib et al., from World Energy Assessment: Energy and the Challenge of Sustainability (United Nations Development Programme, 2002) NO: Seth Dunn, from "Decarbonizing the Energy Economy," in Lester R. Brown et al., State of the World 2001 (W. W. Norton, 2001) Hisham Khatib, deputy chairman of the Jordan Regulatory Commission, and his coauthors conclude that reserves of traditional commercial fuels, including oil, "will suffice for decades to come." Seth Dunn, a research associate and climate/energy team coleader at the Worldwatch Institute, argues that a new energy system is fast emerging--in part because of a series of revolutionary new technologies and approaches--that will cause a transition away from a reliance on oil as the primary energy source. ISSUE 7. Will the World Be Able to Feed Itself in the Foreseeable Future? YES: Sylvie Brunel, from "Increasing Productive Capacity: A Global Imperative," in Action Against Hunger, The Geopolitics of Hunger, 2000--2001: Hunger and Power (Lynne Rienner, 2001) NO: Lester R. Brown, from "Eradicating Hunger: A Growing Challenge," in Lester R. Brown et al., State of the World 2001 (W. W. Norton, 2001) Sylvie Brunel, former president of Action Against Hunger, argues that "there is no doubt that world food production! is enough to meet the needs of" all the world's peoples. Lester R. Brown, former president of the Worldwatch Institute, maintains that little, if any, progress is being made to eradicate pervasive global hunger, despite increases in food productivity. ISSUE 8. Is Global Environmental Stress Caused Primarily by Increased Resource Consumption Rather Than Population Growth? YES: Adil Najam, from "A Developing Countries' Perspective on Population, Environment, and Development," Population Research and Policy Review (February 1996) NO: Lester R. Brown, Gary Gardner, and Brian Halweil, from "Sixteen Impacts of Population Growth," The Futurist (February 1999) Adil Najam, an assistant professor in the Department of International Relations at Boston University, argues that consumption control among developed countries is a major key to avoiding continuing environmental crises. Lester R. Brown, Gary Gardner, and Brian Halweil, researchers at the Worldwatch Institute, examine 16 dimensions of population growth in the areas of food and agriculture, environment and resources, and economic impacts and quality of life, and they indicate that the effects of such growth are mainly adverse. ISSUE 9. Is the Earth Getting Warmer? YES: Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, from "Climate Change 2001: The Scientific Basis," A Report of Working Group I of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (2001) NO: Brian Tucker, from "Science Friction: The Politics of Global Warming," The National Interest (Fall 1997) In the summary of its most recent assessment of climatic change, the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change concludes that an increasing set of observations reveals that the world is warming and that much of it is due to human intervention. Brian Tucker, a senior fellow of the Institute for Public Affairs, argues that there are still too many uncertainties to conclude that global warming has arrived. ISSUE 10. Is the Threat of a Global Water Shortage Real? YES: Mark W. Rosegrant, Ximing Cai, and Sarah A. Cline, from "Global Water Outlook to 2025: Averting an Impending Crisis," A Report of the International Food Policy Research Institute and the International Water Management Institute (September 2002) NO: BjA rn Lomborg, from The Skeptical Environmentalist: Measuring the Real State of the World (Cambridge University Press, 2001) Mark W. Rosegrant, Ximing Cai, and Sarah A. Cline, researchers at the International Food Policy Research Institute, conclude that if current water policies continue, farmers will find it difficult to grow sufficient food to meet the world's needs. Associate professor of statistics BjA rn Lomborg argues that water is not only plentiful but also a renewable resource that, if properly treated as valuable, should not pose a future problem. PART 3. The Movement of Peoples ISSUE 11. Is the Global Community Responding Well to the Plight of Refugees and Displaced Persons? YES: Roberta Cohen and Francis M. Deng, from "Exodus Within Borders: The Uprooted Who Never Left Home," Foreign Affairs (July/August 1998) NO: David Masci, from "Assisting Refugees," CQ Researcher (February 7, 1997) Roberta Cohen and Francis M. Deng, scholars at the Brookings Institution, contend that the international community should be ready to assist the millions of people who are fleeing persecution and war within their own countries when states fail to protect their own. David Masci, a staff writer for CQ Researcher, argues that there needs to be a reassessment among refugee-aid groups, national governments, the United Nations, and others about whether or not past humanitarian efforts have been appropriate. ISSUE 12. Should Immigration to the United States and Other Developed Countries Be Curtailed? YES: Mark W. Nowak, from "Immigration and U.S. Population Gorwth: An Environmental Perspective," Negative Population Growth Special Report (December 19, 1997) NO: John Isbister, from "Are Immigration Controls Ethical?" in Susanne Jonas and Suzie Dod Thomas, eds., Immigration: A Civil Rights Issue for the Americas (Scholarly Resources, 1999) Mark W. Nowak, an environmental writer and a resident fellow of Negative Population Growth, attacks six basic arguments favoring the loosening of U.S. immigration laws, including the argument that immigration contributes little to U.S. population growth. Professor of economics John Isbister attacks six basic arguments for population controls, among them the contention that open immigration would destroy important American values. ISSUE 13. Is There a Global Brain Drain? YES: William J. Carrington, from "International Migration and the 'Brain Drain,'" The Journal of Social, Political and Economic Studies (Summer 1999) NO: Jean M. Johnson and Mark C. Regets, from "International Mobility of Scientists and Engineers to the United States--Brain Drain or Brain Circulation?" National Science Foundation, Division of Science Resources Studies Issue Brief (November 10, 1998) William J. Carrington, an economist at the Bureau of Labor Statistics, details what he considers an extensive global brain drain, or the migration of the more qualified citizens of the developing world to the richer countries. Jean M. Johnson and Mark C. Regets, senior analysts in the Division of Science Resources Studies at the National Science Foundation, contend that roughly half of all foreign doctoral recipients leave the United States immediately upon completion of their studies, while others leave some years later, creating a brain circulation rather than a total drain. PART 4. The Flow of Information and Ideas ISSUE 14. Is Globalization a Positive Development for the World Community? YES: Thomas L. Friedman, from "DOScapital," Foreign Policy (Fall 1999) NO: Christian E. Weller, Robert E. Scott, and Adam S. Hersh, from "The Unremarkable Record of Liberalized Trade," Economic Policy Institute Briefing Paper (October 2001) Journalist Thomas L. Friedman argues that globalization is built around three balances, each of which makes the system more individualized and democratic by empowering individuals on the world stage. Economists Christian E. Weller, Robert E. Scott, and Adam S. Hersh argue that over the past 20 years, globalization has brought about greater inequities, more poverty, and greater misery and has not increased development for the vast majority of the world's citizens. ISSUE 15. Will the Digital/Computer World Lead to Greater Individual Freedom? YES: Paul Starr, from "Cyberpower and Freedom," The American Prospect (July/August 1997) NO: Jerry Kang, from "Cyberspace Privacy: A Primer and Proposal," Human Rights (Winter 1999) Professor of sociology Paul Starr argues that the information revolution will help to create a period of individual freedom empowered by computer technology. Professor of law Jerry Kang argues that privacy, which is fundamental to the concept of freedom, is severely threatened by the current love of cyberspace. He suggests that the U.S. Congress and, by extension, individual states should take action to ensure individual privacy in cyberspace. ISSUE 16. Is the Globalization of American Culture a Positive Development? YES: David Rothkopf, from "In Praise of Cultural Imperialism?" Foreign Policy (Summer 1997) NO: Jeffrey E. Garten, from "'Cultural Imperialism' Is No Joke," Business Week (November 30, 1998) David Rothkopf, an adjunct professor of international and public affairs, discusses the creation of a global culture and argues that the Americanization of the world along a U.S. value system is good and should be encouraged in the interests of the United States. Jeffrey E. Garten, dean of Yale University's School of Management, argues that people around the world see globalization as a form of American imperialism. He contends that such fears have a strong basis in reality and cannot be ignored. PART 5. The New Global Security Agenda ISSUE 17. Is Biological and Chemical Terrorism the Next Grave Threat to the World Community? YES: Al J. Venter, from "Keeping the Lid on Germ Warfare," International Defense Review (May 1, 1998) NO: Ehud Sprinzak, from "The Great Superterrorism Scare," Foreign Policy (Fall 1998) Journalist Al J. Venter examines newly emerging biological germs and asserts that they will expand the threat of germ warfare in the coming years. Professor of political science Ehud Sprinzak argues that a biological or chemical terrorist attack is highly unlikely and that governments, in justifying expanding defense spending and other measures, are exploiting people's fears of such an occurrence. ISSUE 18. Is a Nuclear Terrorist Attack on America Likely? YES: Graham Allison, from "We Must Act As If He Has the Bomb," The Washington Post (November 18, 2001) NO: Jessica Stern, from "A Rational Response to Dirty Bombs," Financial Times (June 11, 2002) Professor of government Graham Allison contends that the United States must assume that terrorist groups like Al Qaeda have dirty bombs and nuclear weapons and that it must therefore act accordingly. He argues that to assume that such groups do not possess such weapons invites disaster. Jessica Stern, a lecturer in public policy, argues that Americans are in danger of overestimating terrorist capabilities and thus creating a graver threat than actually exists. She warns that the United States must not overreact in its policy response and that prudent security measures will greatly reduce such threats now and in the future. ISSUE 19. Is There a Military Solution to Terrorism? YES: Wesley K. Clark, from "Waging the New War: What's Next for the U.S. Armed Forces," in James F. Hoge, Jr., and Gideon Rose, eds., How Did This Happen? Terrorism and the New War (PublicAffairs, 2001) NO: Andrew Stephen, from "The War That Bush Cannot Win," New Statesman (September 24, 2001) General Wesley K. Clark argues that with the proper flexible strategy, the U.S. military can accomplish the objectives of eliminating groups like Al Qaeda and help the United States win the war against terrorism. Journalist Andrew Stephen maintains that the problems behind terrorism are deep and that U.S. patriotism and bravado will not win the war against it. ISSUE 20. Are Civil Liberties Likely to Be Compromised in the War Against Terrorism? YES: Morton H. Halperin, from "Less Secure, Less Free," The American Prospect (November 19, 2001) NO: Kim R. Holmes and Edwin Meese III, from "The Administration's Anti-Terrorism Package: Balancing Security and Liberty," The Heritage Foundation Backgrounder (October 3, 2001) Morton H. Halperin, a senior fellow of the Council on Foreign Relations, cites the Patriot Act, as well as the strategy employed by the George W. Bush administration to enact it, in sounding an alarm about the abuses of civil liberties that he feels will likely result from this new legislation. Kim R. Holmes, vice president and director of the Kathryn and Shelby Cullom Davis Institute for International Studies at the Heritage Foundation, and Edwin Meese III, Ronald Reagan Distinguished Fellow in Public Policy at the foundation, argue that the Bush administration's approach to fighting terrorism, including its legislative package, strikes the proper balance between liberty and security. ISSUE 21. Are Cultural and Ethnic Conflicts the Defining Dimensions of Twenty-First-Century War? YES: Samuel P. Huntington, from "The Clash of Civilizations?" Foreign Affairs (Summer 1993) NO: John R. Bowen, from "The Myth of Global Ethnic Conflict," Journal of Democracy (October 1996) Political scientist Samuel P. Huntington argues that the emerging conflicts of the twenty-first century will be cultural and not ideological. He identifies the key fault lines of conflict and discusses how these conflicts will reshape global policy. John R. Bowen, a professor of sociocultural anthropology, rejects the idea that ethnic and cultural conflicts are decisive. He argues that political choices made by governments and nations, not cultural divides and intercultural rivalry, dictate much of global international affairs.