Population Dynamics - 1 Flashcards
Describe the present day world population distribution.
Today, the Earth’s population is distributed unevenly. There is a strong spatial association between coastlines and population densities, thus, people predominantly live in close vicinity to coasts, whilst population becomes scarcer further inland. Asia currently accounts for approximately 60% of the Earth’s population, Africa contributes 15%, whilst Europe, America, and Oceania account for approximately 25%.
Define the Malthusian Theory.
Provide a relevant historical example.
The Malthusian Theory states that whilst population will grow exponentially (e.g 2,4,8,16), food production will only grow arithmetically (e.g 2,4,6,8). He stated that unless population checks such as disease, famine, war, or other disasters, widespread poverty would occur. For example, during the industrial revolution (early 1800s), the U.K. was faced with high levels of poverty and famine. The many who were poor, often had higher fertility rates, though were unable to support themselves and their families adequately. Thus a large majority of people were undernourished and fell to famine.
Evaluate wether Malthus’s arguments are relevant for today.
Recently, Malthus’s arguments have regained some favour. Neo malthusians have redeveloped some of his original ideas:
Population growth will eventually outstrip resources. For example, in Sub Saharan Africa, malthusian checks of starvation and disease have been realised since 1960s.
Restricting the number of children a couple can have would reduce the pressure on resources. For example, China’s one child policy.
There is an inevitable environmental degradation and resource overuse with population growth. For example, the world’s dwindling oil reserves around the world.
