In the late eighteenth century Thomas Malthus developed a theory of population growth, in which he warned of disaster. This theory was known as the Malthusian theory. He predicted population would increase according to a geometric progression. Food production would only increase in arithmetic progression. Some reasons why his projections have not been realized are discussed. Still, critics point out that greater economic productivity has caused problems for the surroundings. Also, population growth remains very high in poor nations. The rapid population growth would lead to social chaos. At such a rate, Malthus concluded that world population would soon go out of control. It was the unexpected population growth two centuries ago that sparked the growth of demography. Malthus presented a disturbing vision of the future: people reproducing further than what the planet could feed. It would then eventually lead to widespread starvation.
2007-05-20
17:50:08
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Economics