The Malthusian Theory

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Recommended: Effects of population growth on the environment

At the U.S. Science Convention of 2011, the dire prediction was made that by 2050, we will have an “unrecognizable” planet by virtue of a huge population competing for a deficient number of resources. It is envisioned that the global population will climb to nine billion by 2050. Due to the increasing population, “we will need to produce as much food in the next 40 years as we have in the last 8,000,” said Jason Clay at the yearly meeting of the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS). The only effective solution is to “minimize population growth…through more effective family planning”. We are now witnessing the truth that lied behind the theory of the economist, Thomas Malthus, who foreshadowed the increase of population with minimal resources to support it.
Thomas Malthus’ theory on population, proposed in “An Essay on the Principle of Population”, has had an influence on the strict society in “The Giver” by Lois Lowry. In his famous essay, Malthus makes his views on population and the availability of resources open to the public to increase awareness of potential threats to the world. His theory, known as The Malthusian Theory, developed due to his disagreement with positive theorists who believed in the growth of a future society. He differed in opinion, believing that the future society could not improve, but in fact go downhill; that is, unless the population was kept to a level of subsistence.
Malthus believed that population grows geometrically, whereas food supply to support the population grows arithmetically. Therefore, he predicted that the food supply would not be a sufficient amount to support the population which constantly doubles in its cycle. Once Malthus came to this realization, he predicte...

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Malthus, T. (n.d.). An Essay on the Principle of Population. www.esp.org. Retrieved February 15, 2014, from http://www.esp.org/books/malthus/population/malthus.pdf
Brandon, Hembree. "Food supply vs. population: Malthus 200 years later." Delta Farm Press. N.p., n.d. Web. 22 Feb. 2014. .
"Earth Could be 'Unrecognizable' by 2050." DNews. N.p., 20 Feb. 2011. Web. 22 Feb. 2014. .
France-Presse, Agence. "Researchers: Earth will be ‘unrecognizable’ by 2050 | The Raw Story." Researchers: Earth will be ‘unrecognizable’ by 2050 | The Raw Story. N.p., 21 Feb. 2011. Web. 22 Feb. 2014. .

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