Geography Reference
In-Depth Information
is “too many people.” But how many is too many, and is that number the same everywhere, or is it
dependent on local conditions?
Reputable demographers agree there is no “magic number” of people or of people per square mile
beyond which a country or region is overpopulated. Being statistically inclined, however, they do
look to numerical data and analyses to gain perspective. Perhaps their most intriguing concept is
car-
rying capacity
— the number of people that a country or region can sustain at an acceptable level of
well being given its prevailing technology.
As you will see in the “Regarding overpopulation and carrying capacity” sidebar, one can argue that
technologically advanced societies have higher carrying capacities than developing nations that lack
similar expertise. But differences in culture, life experience, and personal preference have generally
rendered inconclusive mathematical attempts to precisely determine carrying capacities. At best, and
in response to the questions above, demographers' numerical exercises suggest it is impossible to de-
termine how many is too many, and that thresholds — if and as near as they can be determined — do
vary from place to place depending on local conditions.
Lack of conclusive definition and indicators of overpopulation — statistical and otherwise — has not
prevented people from taking sides on this issue. Some argue passionately that Earth or parts thereof
are overpopulated and espouse policies to rectify the perceived problem. Others argue just as pas-
sionately that overpopulation does not exist and espouse policies aimed at relieving malnourishment,
poor health, and its other would-be symptoms. Proponents of these viewpoints occasionally and re-
spectively are referred to as
neo-Malthusians
and
cornucopians.
Neo-Malthusians
If you hail from the camp of neo-Malthusians, your camp leader is Thomas R. Malthus (1766-1834),
an English political economist and theologian, who believed population increase is a prelude to disas-
ter. In his famous “Essay on the Principle of Population” (1798) he stated that “population increases
in a geometric ratio, while the means of subsistence increases in an arithmetic ratio.” In other words,
human population is increasing and at a rate much faster than food supply.
