Corvus+Q1+2014-15++Neo+Malthusianism

__**Cultural:**__ Abby Gritis

Perhaps the largest cultural event that has affected the impact of the term “Neo-Malthusianism” is the population increase that has reach unbelievable numbers. As Lauren Landsburg states, “ The adjective “Malthusian” is used today to describe a pessimistic prediction of the lock-step demise of a humanity doomed to starvation via overpopulation” (Thomas Robert Malthus 1). While neo-malthusianism and plain malthusianism are different terms, many people see them as one. The general meaning of this term, especially in current times, is one of a pessimistic view that the population of the earth cannot be held so population must be controlled. The cultural events that have been happening drive people to believe that neo-malthusianism is needed for people to continue their way of life. As supported by an essay over the two terms, “When society does not limit population growth voluntarily, diseases, famines and wars reduce population size and establish the necessary balance with resources” (Braggion 1-2). There is a self-realization within society that there are too many people, and now people are not afraid to state this realization. In conclusion, due to the growing population there has been a realization that population needs to be controlled so that the quality of life remains to the level that society is accustomed to.

//Braggion, Fabio. "Malthusian and Neo-Malthusian Theories."// Stanford University (2001): n. pag. Web. 3 Sep. 2014

Landsburg, Lauren F. "Thomas Robert Malthus" //The Concise Encyclopedia of Economics.// Library of Economics and Liberty, 2008. Web. 3 Sep. 2014

Abby Gritis
 * __Historical:__**



Neo-malthusianism has been seen historically in many different times and examples. One example, given by Fabio Braggion would be “that Britain, before and immediately after the industrial revolution, displayed all the main features of a Malthusian economy, but by the end of the nineteenth century the relationship between population and income was broken” (Malthusian and Neo-Malthusian Theories 6). This shows about how the population was going up but resources were staying stagnant and eventually decrease. This philosophy, throughout history, had not been thought of much before the 1950’s. The idea started to make sense to many people after World War II the “baby boom” occurred. This increase in population is the beginning sprouts of neo-malthusianism, which states that the population, while growing, should be controlled. Now, this thought has grown over time and has become very prevailing in how people think currently. The historical impact of the term is seen by the growth of population and how this has sparked the thought that there needs to be less people on this earth. Before the large growth in population people did not generally think that there should be less humans on this earth. Although, as an article depicting Malthus’ views state's “ population tends to increase naturally at a (faster) geometric rate, Malthus argued that it is no surprise that people thus choose to reduce (or “check”) population growth” (Landsburg 1). Neo-malthusianism has only just began to reach popularity, as many people throughout history did not believe that neo-malthusianism was the proper answer, yet it can be seen that history has affected how people view the population increase.

//Braggion, Fabio. "Malthusian and Neo-Malthusian Theories."// Stanford University (2001): n. pag. Web. 3 Sep. 2014

Landsburg, Lauren F. "Thomas Robert Malthus" //The Concise Encyclopedia of Economics.// Library of Economics and Liberty, 2008. Web. 3 Sep. 2014

__**Aim:**__ Jack Gillette

"Neo-Malthusianism" may be used as a classification for those who are concerned that overpopulation may increase resource degradation or environmental depletion to a degree that is not sustainable with the potential of ecological subsidence or other hazards. In his polemic, Thomas Malthus wrote, “ he power of population is indefinitely greater than the power in the earth to produce subsistence for man” (Principle of Population). The term is also often immediately connected with eugenics. The expeditious increase in the global population of the past century exemplifies Malthus's predicted population patterns; it also appears to describe socio-demographic dynamics of complex pre-industrial societies. These findings are the basis for neo-malthusian modern mathematical models of long-term historical dynamics.

//Braggion, Fabio. "Malthusian and Neo-Malthusian Theories."// Stanford University (2001): n. pag. Web. 3 Sep. 2014

Malthus, Thomas. //Principle of Population.// Surrey: Thomas Malthus, 1798. Print.

Jay Chambers
 * __Audience:__**

The people who believe in the Neo-Malthusianism theory are known as Neo-Malthusians. Neo-Malthusians is a term used for those who are concerned that “overpopulation may increase resource depletion or environmental degradation to a degree that is not sustainable with the potential of ecological collapse or other hazards” (Malthus Theory and Neo-Malthusians). So basically, Neo-Malthusians are against the concept of overpopulation because they believe that overpopulation causes resources to deplete and plus they believe that overpopulation causes environmental issues to grow as well. Therefore, Neo-Malthusianism is referred to the people who have the same basic concerns as Malthus, in which those people advocate for population control programs in order to provide resources for current populations and future populations as well, helping them stabilize. Malthus’ theory implies the relationship between population growth and food, arguing that “population growth is geometric and agricultural growth is arithmetic; therefore, population growth will increase at such a rate that eventually there will not be enough resources for the population” (Malthus Theory and Neo-Malthusians). Basically what this means is that the concept of population growth is geometric, while the concept of agricultural growth is arithmetic. So therefore, resources will deplete because of the fact that the population growth will increase. So overall, the audience of Neo-Malthusianism is basically the people who have the same concerns as Malthus, which was that overpopulation causes resources to be lost.

“Malthus Theory and Neo-Malthusians.” //Lewis Historical Society//. n.p., 27 Apr. 2010. Web. 3 Sep. 2014.