Question

• Describe the theory of population as articulated by Thomas Malthus. In what way did “misery” serve as a check for population? In Malthus’s eye was there an escape from what would later be known as the Malthusian trap? What relevance does Malthus’s theory have for us today?

Answer 1

Malthus theory of population expresses the concerns regarding the rising population. The food rises in the arithmetic progression while the population increases in the geometric progression. Thus now population growth outpaces the growth of food. Shortage of food would causes fall in the population. There might be positive or preventive checks on population. Positive checks are triggered by the nature.

Malthusian trap says that high technological development causes the high population. Thus high population can not be sustained with available food. And population will decline.

Malthusian population theory is not relevant today. The rise in the development of the technology has led to the rise in the production of food. Thus now high population growth has become sustainable. But it is also true that such high growth rate of population can not be sustained infinitely.