Exam #1 Flashcards
Explain the core of Thomas Malthus’s argument and the associated concern he expresses/consequence.
He argues that the capacity of population to grow is greater than the Earth’s capacity to provide natural resources. He is concerned that we will end up with resource depletion because the population will be too large to be supported by the Earth’s resources.
How does, generally speaking, contemporary Europe support or undermine Malthus’ argument? Indicate if it does or does not and explain why that is the case.
Contemporary Europe undermines Malthus’ argument because even though European countries have some of the highest population densities, they are generally not poor, hungry, or live in a degraded environment. They have economic means to supply these resources from elsewhere. The global north has the means to supply their resources from the global south.
Indicate two components of population policies that were enacted in Kerala, India in order to slow down the population growth.
- Government investment on education and accessible health care
- Two child policy
- Encourage higher age of marriage
What does the urban planet mean and where and what has most contributed to it?
The Urban Planet means that for the first time in human history, the majority of people live in cities, not rural areas. This is happening because of rapid industrialization of the goods we are consuming in the global south.
Based on the “Greed for Feed” video, discuss if farm salmon is cheap or not, why, for whom, and where. Explain in detail all aspects of the question.
Farm Salmon is cheap for the consumer in the global north. However, the environment and surrounding community of the production facility pay a large cost for destroying the eco-system, water pollution, and the health problems cause by the smoke from the facility.
Indicate in percentages the population size and consumption in the USA, relative to the global population size and consumption
The US population size is about 5% of the world, yet we consume about 1/3 of the entire world’s resources.
Define externality and provide one example.
Externality is when a person’s economic activity comes at the expense (or benefit) of another person. An example is a factory that creates air pollution and contributes to congestion.
Indicate two categories of marked-based policy solutions to environmental problems.
- Green Taxes
- Cap & Trade
- Green Consumption
Indicate the ideology that neoliberalism is based on—explain and two characteristics of neoliberal policies.
The ideology of neoliberalism is based on a free market and free market intervention. This means there is no political left and that it is based on classic economics. Two characteristics of these policies are privatization and free market ideology (cheap, fast, leads to growth) and dropping barriers/fewer restrictions to trade.
Based of the Tragedy of the Commons, explain what and why is Hardin’s primary concern.
Hardin’s primary concern is overpopulation and people’s greed/selfishness that will ultimately result in resource depletion of the commons because people will over-consume them.
What three major solutions does Hardin offer in response to what he describes the tragedy of the commons?
- Strict population policy enforced by government
- Eliminate the welfare state
- Privatization
Define a commodity and indicate two components that it encompasses.
A commodity is an object of economic value made for exchange. Two components are human labor and elements (raw materials) from the natural world.
What is the second contradiction of capitalism and its outcome? Explain in detail.
The second contradiction of capitalism is the degradation of natural resources. This will lead to resistance movements and a new form of economy. This leads to spatial fix. A tendency of capitalism to temporarily solve the inevitable period crisis by establishing new markets and resources and sites of production.
Based on “The End of Poverty”, indicate the argument that the author makes, i.e. explain both the specific dynamics and geographies of poverty.
The big argument is that poverty is not an accident and is not natural. Poverty rates remain unchanged and there is a larger gap between rich and poor because of powerful countries exploiting the poor, unbalanced trade, and privatization. In order to understand this trend, we must realize that this started 500 years ago in colonial times.
Explain in detail what the term neo-colonialism implies and why and how neoliberalism is its important aspect.
Neo-colonialism implies that one entity takes total power of someone else’s territory through political, cultural, or economic means. The global north forces itself upon the global south and exploits them and their economic policies for their own advantage. Neoliberalism is its important aspect because the economic policies of neo-colonialism, such as loans, are given with “strings attached” which is a neoliberalism idea.
