Sep 30, 2017
The human population has been growing exponentially for a long
time. It’s been continuously growing since the Black Death in the
1300s – and although wars, famines, and plagues cause occasional
blips in the growth since, it’s been pretty close to exponential
since the Industrial Revolution kicked off. Now Malthus was not the
only one to notice this, before I get letters, but he is
indisputably the one who has his name most closely associated with
the concept. Malthus, among others, saw this in the 1790s and said
“Oh, boy.” He was afraid that human population would overshoot the
availability of resources: and then things would really hit the
fan:
“Famine seems to be the last, the most dreadful resource of nature.
The power of population is so superior to the power of the earth to
produce subsistence for man, that premature death must in some
shape or other visit the human race. The vices of mankind are
active and able ministers of depopulation. They are the precursors
in the great army of destruction, and often finish the dreadful
work themselves. But should they fail in this war of extermination,
sickly seasons, epidemics, pestilence, and plague advance in
terrific array, and sweep off their thousands and tens of
thousands. Should success be still incomplete, gigantic inevitable
famine stalks in the rear, and with one mighty blow levels the
population with the food of the world.”
Could a Malthusian catastrophe hit us today?
Can our society adapt to the continued demand for exponential
growth?
What would it look like, in the modern world?
Find out in this week's TEOTWAWKI