Thomas Robert Malthus has had a very long run. Issuing his first essay on population in 1798, he has persuaded millions of people that the world is threatened by overpopulation. “The effect of Malthusianism was immediate and dramatic,” writes historian Gertrude Himmelfarb. “For half a century social attitudes and policies were decisively shaped by the new turn of thought.”[1] And the impact continues. Until November I had never read Malthus’s essay.[2] To my surprise, it is a … [Read more...]
The Pop Culture Transition from Population Growth to Global Warming
For many of us Millennials, especially in densely populated developing countries like India and China, it was a no-brainer. Population growth was the world’s biggest problem. At least, so we learned in our schools. But as we grew into our 20s, the focus of the world turned more toward climate change. Was population growth really a problem? Is it still? Why are we now so obsessed with climate change instead? There are always two kinds of environmentalists: those who genuinely care for … [Read more...]
