Malthusianism
Growth outpaces resources
Malthusianism is the theory, derived from economist Thomas Malthus, that population growth will inevitably outpace food production, leading to famine, disease, or social collapse.
Malthus argued that populations grow exponentially while resources grow only linearly.
The term often carries critical connotations, implying callousness toward the poor or opposition to aid: Critics dismissed the policy as Malthusianism in disguise.
All inhabitants combined
- overpopulationUnsustainable density of inhabitants
- carrying capacityPopulation an environment sustains
- scarcityInsufficiency of something needed
- subsistenceMinimal means of living
birth rate · death rate · exponential growth · diminishing returns · reproduction rate · population control · fertility rate · mortality rate
Extreme nutritional deprivation
- crop failureWhen fields yield nothing
- hungerNeed for nourishment
- malnutritionDisease from dietary inadequacy
- mass mortalityWidespread simultaneous deaths
drought · undernourishment · destitution · food scarcity · Irish famine · food supply · harvest failure · population collapse
Rapid economic mechanization period
- Victorian eraBritain under its longest-reigning queen
- dismal scienceNickname for economics
- workhousesLabor-based relief institutions
- pauperismCondition of being destitute
political economy · enclosure movement · 19th century · classical economics · Godwin · Condorcet
Exhausting available materials gradually
- environmental degradationDecline of natural surroundings
- ecological footprintMeasure of resource demand
- climate changePlanetary atmospheric transformation
- overconsumptionExcessive use of resources
finite resources · planetary boundaries · degrowth · peak oil · resource scarcity
Preventing conception intentionally
- contraceptionPregnancy prevention measures
- family planningControlling fertility deliberately
- reproductive rightsBodily autonomy in family planning
- eugenicsControlled human reproduction theory
Paul Ehrlich · sterilization · one-child policy · fertility control
Mass turn toward sustainability
- innovationCreating something original
- adaptationFitting to new conditions
- efficiency gainsImproved resource utilization results
- intensificationIncrease in degree
population
All inhabitants combined
- overpopulationUnsustainable density of inhabitants
- carrying capacityPopulation an environment sustains
- scarcityInsufficiency of something needed
subsistence · birth rate · death rate · exponential growth · diminishing returns · reproduction rate · population control · fertility rate · mortality rate · natural limits
starvation
Extreme nutritional deprivation
- crop failureWhen fields yield nothing
- hungerNeed for nourishment
- malnutritionDisease from dietary inadequacy
mass mortality · drought · undernourishment · destitution · food scarcity · Irish famine · food supply · harvest failure · population collapse · preventable death
industrial revolution
Rapid economic mechanization period
- Victorian eraBritain under its longest-reigning queen
- dismal scienceNickname for economics
- workhousesLabor-based relief institutions
pauperism · political economy · enclosure movement · 19th century · classical economics · Godwin · Condorcet
resource depletion
Exhausting available materials gradually
- environmental degradationDecline of natural surroundings
- ecological footprintMeasure of resource demand
- climate changePlanetary atmospheric transformation
overconsumption · finite resources · planetary boundaries · degrowth · peak oil · resource scarcity
birth control
Preventing conception intentionally
- contraceptionPregnancy prevention measures
- family planningControlling fertility deliberately
- reproductive rightsBodily autonomy in family planning
Paul Ehrlich · eugenics · sterilization · one-child policy · fertility control
green revolution
Mass turn toward sustainability
- innovationCreating something original
- adaptationFitting to new conditions
- efficiency gainsImproved resource utilization results
Malthusianismabundance
Ample supply, overflowing
plenty · underpopulation · superabundance · post-scarcity · expansionism