The Population Problem Essays -- essays research papers fc

The Population ProblemTwo hundred categorys ago, Thomas Malthus, in An Essay on the principle ofPopulation, reached the conclusion that the number of people in the world will increment exponentially, while the ability to feed these people will onlyincrease arithmetically (21). Current evidence shows that this theory may notbe far from the truth. For example, between 1950 and 1984, the total amount of scrap produced more than doubled, much more than the increase in population inthose 34 years. More recently though, these statistics have become reversed.From 1950 to 1984, the amount of grain increased at 3 percent annually. Yet,from 1984 to 1993, grain production had grown at barely 1 percent per year, adecrease in grain production per person of 12 percent (Brown 31). overlystrengthening to Malthus argument is the theory that the world population willincrease to over 10 billion by 2050, two times what it was in 1990 (Bongaarts36). Demographers call that 2.8 billion people were ad ded to the worldpopulation between 1950 and 1990, an average of 70,000 a year. Between 1990and 2030, it is estimated that another 3.6 billion will be added, an average of90,000 a year (Brown 31). Moreover, in the 18th century, the world populationgrowth was 0.34% it increased to 0.54% in the 19th century and in the firsthalf of the 20th century to 0.84% (Weiskel 40). Neo-Malthusians metrical unit theirarguments on the teachings of Thomas Malthus. Of the Neo-Malthusians, GarrettHardin is one of the most prominent and controversial. Hardins essays discussthe problem of overpopulation and the effects it will have on the future. InLifeboat Ethics, he concludes that continuous increases in population will havedisastrous outcomes. Neo-Malthusian arguments come under much scrutiny by thosewho believe that the population explosion is only a myth. Those who tolerate thesebeliefs state that the evidence Neo-Malthusians use to justify their views isfar from conclusive. Critics hold that the Neo-Malthusian call forauthoritarian control is much too radical. Thus, these critics belittle thetheories of Neo-Malthusians on the basis that population is not a problem.However radical Hardins theories may be, current evidence shows that he may notbe too far off the mark. It is just now arguable that the population hasincreased in the past few decades, for current statistics show that thisa... ...gy,November 1993, pp. 88-92.Day, Henry C. The New Morality A Candid Criticism. London heath CrantonLimited, 1924.Douglis, Carole, and Gaylord Nelson. Images of Home. Wilderness, Fall 1993,pp. 10-23.Hardin, Garrett. Stalking the Wild Taboo. Los Altos, California WilliamKaufmann, Inc., 1978.Hardin, Garrett. The Limits of Altruism An Ecologists View of Survival.London Indiana University Press, 1977.James, Daniel. Close the Borders to all Newcomers. Taking Sides ClashingViews on Controversial governmental Issues. Ed. George Mckenna and StanleyFeingold. 9th ed. Guilford, CT Dushkin Publis hing Group, Inc., 1995.Malthus, Thomas Robert. An Essay on the Principle of Population. Ed. PhillipAppleman. New York W.W. Norton & Company, Inc., 1976.Mandel, Michael J., and Christopher Farrell. The Price of Open Arms.Business Week, 21 June 1993, pp. 32-35.Morganthau, Tom. America Still a break up Pot? Newsweek, 9 August 1993, pp.16-23.Thomas, Rich, and Andrew Murr. The Economic Cost of Immigration. Newsweek, 9August 1993, pp. 18-19.Weiskel, Timothy C. Can Humanity Survive Unrestricted Population Growth? regular armyToday Magazine, January 1995, pp. 38-41.