Lucky #7 Population Project by Patrick Femia

Thomas Malthus' view on population (1798)

patrick_femia — 2013-09-20 02:31:32 UTC

Thomas Malthus gave the argument that in the world a constant pressure towards population growth which was counteracted throughout history by "positive checks" that included "war, famine, and disease". He argued that food shortages played a major role as population grew because population could grow "geometrically (build upon itself: 2,4,8,16...)" whereas food production could grow only "arithmetically (2,3,4,5...)." In a nut shell, Malthus said that eventually, there would not be enough food to sustain human life. Malthus refers to how the Church of England didn't allow birth control until the 1930's, so this was a major contributing factor to population growth in his part of the world.

Esther Boserup's view on population (1965)

patrick_femia — 2013-09-20 02:37:25 UTC

Boserup's point in a nut shell, is that "population determines agricultural methods." According to Boserup, the Mathus' theory was inaccurate in certain aspects. Boserup also said that with more population, there are more farmers. Such as when Malthus said that when there is a food shortage, the excess population will die off. On the other hand, Boserup says that "in those times of pressure, people will find ways to increase the production of food by increasing workforce, machinery, fertilizers."

Boserup's Theory

patrick_femia — 2013-09-20 02:43:08 UTC

Friedrich Engels' view on population

patrick_femia — 2013-09-20 02:46:05 UTC

Engels, who is famous for his communist chews believed something different than the other theories. Sticking to his communist beliefs, Engels belived thatnpeople had to share resources, food, etc and the world would be perfect, close to a "utopian" society.

Julian Simon (1981)

patrick_femia — 2013-09-20 02:49:00 UTC

In his view on population, Simon states that as population increases, that does not necessarily mean that natural resources will be depleted. Simon believed that human innovation can satisfy any problems that come about. He often gave the example that as population had increased water and air quality had improved in recent decades.

Favorite Population Theory

patrick_femia — 2013-09-20 03:12:08 UTC

I believe that Julian Simon is the most accurate. I believe that he is correct in saying that just because population grows, doesn't mean we are out of resources. In my opinion, he is correct in saying that man kind can work around whatever is thrown at them. Humanity can do this by innovating as Simon stated.