Pentti Linkola is a well-known Finnish ecosopher, who is both loved and hated among people. He was born in 1932, and has studied biology, and dedicated his whole life to analyze and think of the world we have today.

Linkola is knows for having radical thoughts and statements about the environment. For many people Linkola's way of thinking is very unfamiliar, and they don't understand him at all. Linkola thinks that the multiplicity of life and survival are the absolutely most important things of existance. This should be the basics in everything, and things such as standard of living wouldn’t be so important.

Linkola claims that the lack of things is very important and that it is the most basic necessity for people. There are also many investigations made about this. During wars, there are very few people who commit suicide. And when a village was destroyed in the war, everybody helped to build it up again and nobody destroyed anything, like the youngsters used to do. So, this is one of the problems in the world today. In western countries we have everything we want, and that causes that many people use their energy for doing something that isn’t so good.

Linkola has written some books about his way of thinking of this planet. They are very good and analyzing.

Pentti Linkola has created his own program for saving this world in one of his books, called "Vihreän liikkeen tavoiteohjelma". Here are the main points of it:

• There wouldn’t be any democracy anymore. The police would be much more powerful, and the laws would be totally changed. Individuals wouldn’t have the possibility to make some of their decisions themselves.
• Linkola thinks that the main threat to all life on Earth is the overpopulation. Women couldn’t have more than one or two children. If this would come true, the population would be 1/10 of what it is now in 300 years. After that, the it would be possible to have on average 2.5 children/woman.
• The marriages would last a lifetime, it would be more difficult to get married, and more difficult to get divorced. Many generations would live in the same house, and every family would grow their own food.
• Everybody would go to school for 4 years, and after that only 10-20% would continue. Some of the information we have today would be "forgotten", such as genetic manipulation and nuclear physics.
• Less energy would be used than today. The houses wouldn’t have to be so warm (15-18 C). No household appliances would be accepted, but it would be allowed to use electricity for lighting, TV and radio.
• Linkola thinks that TV and radio are necessary for the information. The only programs that would be allowed would be some information programs some part of the day. All advertisement would be forbidden.
• Private motoring would be forbidden. Bikes, buses and sometimes taxi would be used for transportation. Old, unnecessary roads and parking lots would be destroyed, and there would grow forest instead.

The difference between Linkola’s community and the community we have today are about the individual rights. Everything that doesn’t cause harm to the environment would be allowed.

Pentti Linkola is one of the very few philosophers who live as they think. Linkola lives by a lake in south-western Finland, he grows and fishes his own food. He doesn't consume much, he doesn't have a car or TV, for heating his house he uses wood that he has brought from the forest with the help of his horse... He lives alone and is 65 years old.

The opinions about Linkola’s thoughts are divergent. Before there were very few who understood him well, and people just laughed about him. Nowadays there are more people who have realized that there is a point in what he’s telling us. I think there are many very good points in Linkola's thoughts. I am not just as sure as him that it's impossible to save life on this planet.

I am worried about the way that people react about Linkola's thoughts. His visions about the future are maybe a little exaggerated, but the way he looks at the world today is very well thought out. And when people start to argue with him, he rarely loses. Doesn't this prove anything??

HERE ARE SOME STATEMENTS MADE BY LINKOLA:

"The biggest threat to life is too much life"

"It's a ridiculous statement, that human life would be more important than life itself. All forms of life are equal."

"Employment isn't a good reason enough to explain some projects that are going on. We could employ all the people in Finland and over the world to dig a tunnel under the ground to China. The problem isn't about employment and unemployment, the question is, is it mindless, unnecessary or harmful. Unemployment is always better than doing harmful work."

"The most central and irrational faith among people is the faith in technology and economical growth. Its priests believe until their death that material prosperity bring enjoyment and happiness - even though all the proofs in history have shown that only lack and attempt cause a life worth living, that the material prosperity doesn't bring anything else than despair. These priests believe in technology still when they choke in their gas masks."