Character Analysis
As the English people begin to resort to cannibalism and pagan fertility rites, the central government is toppled, and Prime Minister Ockham takes Prime Minister Starling's Place.
It's safe to say that the new Prime Minister's name is a nod to the analytical principle known as Occam's Razor. As it appears in The Wanting Seed, this principle could be described like so: the simplest answer to the problem is the best.
So: how should governments deal with the fact that despite the global food shortage, the common people still insist on eating, having sex, and reproducing? Simple—let them have sex, let them reproduce, and let them eat each other. Problem solved.