A1: Natural Pop. Change (iii)

A1: Natural Pop. Change (iii)

1. Thomas Malthus

   • English clergyman and economist born 1766
   • Just over 200 years ago (1798) he produced his work on, "The Principle of Population Growth".
   • He states that population, if left unchecked, would outstrip the available resources.
   • Population increased at a geometric rate (1,2,4,8) whilst food supplies increased at an arithmetic rate (1,2,3,4)
   • If pop. continues to grow it would face inevitable check.
   • Balance can be achieved/ maintained in two ways;
     • 1. Preventative Checks
       • Delayed age of marriage, abstinence from sex within marriage
       • Lower Birth Rate
     • 2. Positive Checks
       • Changes in Death Rate
       • Insufficient food = disease and famine were likely outcomes
   • Limitations
     • Food shortage; only one explanation for disease and starvation e.g. war and politics
     • In reality, only the poor go hungry as others have money to buy food
     • Poverty results from poor distribution of resources not limits on production
     • The world does not enjoy a far distribution of food supplies
     • Malthus had no preview of the spectacular changes in farming technology, leading to an increase in agricultural production.

2. Esther Boserup

   • Danish economist who published her belief in 1965
   • As pop. increases, agriculture moves into higher stages of intensity through innovation and introduction of new farming methods.
   • She believed that pop. would continue to grow until they came close to the carrying capacity and at that point human inventiveness would find a way to avert the crisis and produce more food.
   • An increase in pop. will stimulate technologists to increase food production.
   • Limitations
     • Based on the assumption of a closed community (no migration)
     • In over populated areas migration usually occurs to relieve pressure
     • Overpopulation can lead to unsuitable farming practices which degrade the land.
     • Fragile environments cannot support excessive numbers of people
     • Ideas are only applicable at the level of national government
   • Concerns
     • Potential damage to environment with further population increases
     • People seeking even higher standards leaving to depletion of resources
     • Destruction of tropical rainforests - high levels of mineral consumption, global warming and inequalities of living standards between and within communities