Malthusian
Fearing exponential growth
Malthusian refers to the ideas of Thomas Malthus, who argued that population growth tends to outpace food supply, leading inevitably to famine, disease, or war.
The term often carries a pessimistic or fatalistic tone: Malthusian fears about overpopulation.
A Malthusian is someone who holds these views.
Critics use the term dismissively for predictions of resource scarcity that technology or adaptation might overcome.
Severe food shortage
- starvationExtreme nutritional deprivation
- population crashSudden drop in numbers
- collapseSudden structural failure
- die-offRapid population disappearance
mass mortality · epidemic · plague · food crisis · humanitarian crisis · war · pestilence · crop failure
Unsustainable density of inhabitants
- carrying capacityPopulation an environment sustains
- resource depletionExhausting available materials gradually
- population explosionRapid growth in inhabitants
- finite resourcesDepletable materials with limits
exponential growth · resource wars · ecological footprint · environmental degradation · population density · peak oil · water shortage · energy crisis
Predictor of catastrophe
- catastrophismTheory of sudden geological change
- fatalismDoctrine of inevitable outcomes
- dystopiaImaginary terrible society
- doom and gloomPersistent negative outlook
alarmism · Paul Ehrlich · population bomb · dismal science · bleak outlook · overshoot · resource curse · tragedy of the commons
- birth rateLive deliveries per thousand
- death rateFrequency of fatalities measured
- family planningControlling fertility deliberately
- contraceptionPregnancy prevention measures
fertility rate · reproductive health · population control · census · mortality · natalism · replacement rate · population pyramid
State of balance
- steady stateUnchanging system condition
- renewable resourcesSupplies that naturally replenish
- conservationPreventing waste or loss
- stewardshipResponsible care of entrusted things
sustainable development · ecological balance · regenerative · resource management · planetary boundaries · degrowth · circular economy · sustainable agriculture
famine
Severe food shortage
- starvationExtreme nutritional deprivation
- population crashSudden drop in numbers
- collapseSudden structural failure
die-off · mass mortality · epidemic · plague · food crisis · humanitarian crisis · war · pestilence · crop failure · Irish famine
overpopulation
Unsustainable density of inhabitants
- carrying capacityPopulation an environment sustains
- resource depletionExhausting available materials gradually
- population explosionRapid growth in inhabitants
finite resources · exponential growth · resource wars · ecological footprint · environmental degradation · population density · peak oil · water shortage · energy crisis · deforestation
doomsayer
Predictor of catastrophe
- catastrophismTheory of sudden geological change
- fatalismDoctrine of inevitable outcomes
- dystopiaImaginary terrible society
doom and gloom · alarmism · Paul Ehrlich · population bomb · dismal science · bleak outlook · overshoot · resource curse · tragedy of the commons · triage
Thomas Malthus
- birth rateLive deliveries per thousand
- death rateFrequency of fatalities measured
- family planningControlling fertility deliberately
contraception · fertility rate · reproductive health · population control · census · mortality · natalism · replacement rate · population pyramid · emigration
equilibrium
State of balance
- steady stateUnchanging system condition
- renewable resourcesSupplies that naturally replenish
- conservationPreventing waste or loss
stewardship · sustainable development · ecological balance · regenerative · resource management · planetary boundaries · degrowth · circular economy · sustainable agriculture · food security
- economicssupply and demand, inflation, GDP, GNP, gross domestic product
- EponymsDarwinian, Alzheimer's disease, Freudian slip, cardigan, Parkinson's disease
Malthusiantechno-utopian
Faith in technological salvation
Promethean · progressive · Keynesian · neoliberal · expansionist