Population Part IV Thomas Malthus, Population Bomb? (A)

A Population Bomb?  Thomas Malthus ( , England) --Felt population growing exponentially and resources growing linearly --Believed people needed to practice ”moral restraint” to lower CBR or there needed to be a disaster to increase CDR in order to solve population problem

Malthus’ Point of Crisis

Neo-Malthusians  Two recent issues that invigorate Malthus thought:  1. many countries experiencing population growth due to transfer of medical technology  2. new population “stripping” world of resources  Ehrlich (1960s)  warned of a population bomb in 1970s and 1980s because the world’s population was outpacing food production. (Said England would die by 2000 & world would undergo world-wide famine- millions would starve to death)  No bomb, no starving! Could there still be something learned from Ehrlich’s thoughts? Ehrlich said that resources are finite, increased consumption will lead to depletion of those resources

Critics of Malthus  Resources are not fixed:  Trade allows for potential elimination of possibilism  Lack of food resulted from distribution of wealth rather than insufficient food  Population growth can stimulate economic growth  More people=more consumers, more creativity