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Planet Earth contains far more than sufficient means to enable every single member of the human race to generate for himself the needs for an abundant and fulfilled life. It is not beyond the wit of man to understand what he must do to live at peace with his neighbour. A fair society of peers could be formulated quite easily. On this planet, there is plenty of everything for all to be able to enjoy long and abundant lives.
| Total surface area | 510,000,000 km² |
| Land area | 148,800,000 km² |
| Productive Land | 130,693,000 km² |
| Population | 6,000,000,000 |
| Productive land per person | 2.18 hectares |
| Productive land per household | 15.2 hectares |
For each family on Earth there is about 15.2 hectares of habitable land. But this figure is quite recent in historic terms. In 1800 there was about 1 km² of habitable land per family. In 1700 there was about 1½ km² of habitable land per family. That's 10 times what there is now. So it could never have been for lack of planetary resources that disparity of wealth and well-being has been an ever-present feature of history.
| Land area | 241,590 km² |
| Population | 58,970,119 |
| Population density | 244 per km² |
| Occupancy | 0.0041 km²/person |
| Land per person | .41 hectares |
| Average household | 3 occupants |
| Land per household | 1.229 hectares |
Our farmer and his family of 6 (see Chapter 8) has over 60 times his fair share of the UK land surface. My family of 5, who has more than the average, 'owns' less than 400m² = .04 hectares which is about 2% of our fair share. The United Kingdom is a land of gross disparity.
Sustained by energy from the sun, the ecosystem of Planet Earth provides mankind constantly and continuously with the means to produce the necessities and luxuries of life. The ebbs and flows of nature are well understood. Ancient history has shown that feast and famine can be managed. There is no economic or moral excuse for poverty and deprivation. Modern booms and recessions - and the unemployment they spawn - are man-made.
Use of Planet Earth's resources and what they produce have been commandeered by a minority which like a coven of self-appointed demigods have ensconced themselves between mankind and his birthright. If it were not for the avarice of that faceless few, the present disgraceful state-of-the-world would not exist. If they would only cease from dissipating the greater part of human effort in endless acts of gainless competition and conflict, a good living could be had by all, paving the way to higher things.