Population Perspectives

Mary Margaret Duffy

Perspectives on Population Growth

Overpopulation and specifically its negative effects are an issue that has been popularized by the media throughout the past couple decades. The ideas of popular figures such as Paul Ehrlich and Thomas Malthus have taken hold in the ideas of the masses. These ideas support the thought that the world’s population is spiraling out of control with detrimental effects to the Earth and its environments. However, several other environmentalists, economists, and demographers, such as Julian Simon and Betsy Hartmann, have taken a closer look at the situation, and come up with compelling ideas that population growth might even be beneficial. Though all agree that there are several dimensions contributing to population growth, each have different ideas as to what is the driving force and whether it is a problem that warrants a solution.

It is a simple fact of life that every human needs some sort of sustenance in order to survive. This idea is the fundamental basis of Paul Ehrlich’s Malthusian ideology. His belief is that the exponentially growing population is causing crises in both first and third world countries due to a shortage of food. He also believes that the lowering of population growth through family planning must be taken into the hands of the “knowledgeable” and forced upon those who do not want to take part. Ehrlich mainly ties the issue of population growth to the environment, with claims that the Western world is over consuming, which leads to detrimental effects such as toxicity, pollution, and an excess of waste. In summation, his argument is that our exploding population will eventually destroy the Earth, along with our species.

While the neo-Malthusians view humans as a destroying force, the Cornucopians, such as Julian Simon, see the human race as the ultimate resource. Instead of seeing the addition of humans as more mouths to feed, they see the increase of people as more thinkers that can...