Population theories - Malthus and Boserup

Population theories - Malthus and Boserup

• 1.
  Population theories Malthus, Boserupand the Club of Rome
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  1766-1834. Born nearGuildford! Wrote ‘An essay in the First Principle of population’ first published in 1798 Debatable whether the principles of Malthus two hundred years ago (that were very revolutionary and controversial) have any relevance to the modern world. The world population in 1798 was at nine million people. We have now passed the six billion mark. Thomas Malthus
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  ¤ Food isnecessary for human existence ¤ Human population tends to grow faster than the power in the earth to produce subsistence ¤ The effects of these two unequal powers must be kept equal ¤ Since humans tend not to limit their population size voluntarily - “preventive checks” in Malthus’ terminology. The Core Principles of Malthus:
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  Malthus recognised thatpopulation if unchecked, grows at a geometric rate: 1 2 4 8 16 32 However, food only increases at an arithmetic rate, as land is finite. 1 2 3 4 5 6
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  and therefore hesaid…. War, famine, disease.
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  Malthus suggested thatonce this ceiling (catastrophe) had been reached, further growth in population would be prevented by negative and positive checks. He saw the checks as a natural method of population control. They can be split up into 3 groups…. CHECKS
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  Negative Checks wereused to limit the population growth. It included abstinence/ postponement of marriage which lowered the fertility rate. Malthus favoured moral restraint (including late marriage and sexual abstinence) as a check on population growth. However, it is worth noting that Malthus proposed this only for the working and poor classes! Negative checks (decreased birth rate)….
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  Positive Checks wereways to reduce population size by events such as famine, disease, war - increasing the mortality rate and reducing life expectancy. Positive checks (increased death rate)
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  'J' Curve -Population Crash Model
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  There has beena population explosion Africa – repeated famines, wars, food crisis, environmental degradation, soil erosion, crop failure and disastrous floods – so was he right? Was Malthus right?
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  Technological improvements whichhe could not have foreseen The increased amount of cropland due to irrigation Reduced population growth as countries move through the DTM But…..
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  Group of industrialists,scientists, economists and statesmen from 10 countries Published ‘The Limits to Growth’ in 1972 The Club of Rome
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  If present growthtrends in world population continue and if associated industrialisation, pollution, food production and resource depletion continue unchanged, the limits to growth on this planet will be reached sometime in the next 100 years. The most probably result will be sudden and uncontrollable decline in both population and industrial capacity The Club of Rome – basic conclusion….
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  Don’t panic yet! Doesn’ttake human dimension sufficiently into account Human race is adaptable and innovative Human responses have changed – e.g. alternative sources of fuel (to replace fossil fuels), HYVs seeds to prevent starvation in parts of Asia Is the Club of Rome right?
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  Boserup believed tatpeople have the resources of knowledge and technology to increase food supplies. Opposite to Malthus – she suggested that population growth has enabled agricultural development to occur Assumes people knew of the techniques required by more intensive systems and used them when the population grew. Esther Boserup 1965
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  Demographic pressure (populationdensity) promotes innovation and higher productivity in use of land (irrigation, weeding, crop intensification, better seeds) and labour (tools, better techniques). i.e…..
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  Boserup argued thatthe changes in technology allow for improved crop strains and increased yields. GM crops ‘Green revolution’ Was she right?
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  Boserup admits overpopulationcan lead to unsuitable farming practices which may degrade the land e.g. population pressure as one of the reasons for desertification in the Sahal region (so fragile environments at risk) Boserup’s theory based on assumption of ‘closed’ society -not the case in reality (migration) But….