FREE ESSAY ON MALTHUS AND AFRICA

MALTHUS AND AFRICA

Malthus and Africa
Africa, being a third world country with much economic oppression, is currently being
debated in the General Assembly about whether or not it should have population control.
Many experts believe that, if not controlled, the rate of the increasing population of
Africa will have disastrous effects. Over two hundred years ago, a man by the name of
Thomas Robert Malthus wrote an essay on the effects of population and the food supply
titled An Essay on the Principle of Population. This essay dealt with the growth of
population and if not restrained, how it would destroy man's subsistence here on Earth
(Geyer 1). Much of what he wrote applies to not only Africa, but also the entire world
today.
Currently, the population growth in the Western Nations is approaching zero. This means
that each family is having 2.1 children, enough to replace the current population. For
North America to double, it would take one hundred years, for Europe, two hundred. But
for Africa to double, it would take only twenty-four years. There are many factors as to
why Africa, and many other third world countries, reproduces at such a rate. Lack of
contraceptives, traditional values, high infant mortality, and poor education are a few
of these factors (Duffey 2). It is a lot easier for a country to deal with its problems
if it has less people, says Brian Hailwel, who studies Malthus's theories (Kolasky 1).
Carl Haub who stated, It is almost impossible for a developing country to move from the
Third World to the First World when their population is rising so rapidly supports
Hailwel's statement.
Malthus believed that the evolution of mankind existed in cycles. Good times occurred
when there were high wages and good living conditions, which led to early marriages and
rapid population increase. Then come the bad times. Disease, low wages, and epidemics
lead to population decrease and a restored balance between population and resources. This
cycle then repeats (Stundbia 4). He also felt that the Poor Laws, which attempted to
support those whose incomes were too low to support themselves, were in the long run more
harmful than helpful. This just leads to lower wages and families that can not support
the children they already have bearing more.
Many people seem to think that war, famine, and plague will help keep the world's
population restrained. These disasters are one of the two checks on the growth of
population that Malthus identifies in An Essay on the Principle of Population. He called
these two checks positive checks and preventative checks. Positive checks are famine,
disease, and wars while preventive checks are celibacy, abortion, and late marriages.
Africa participates very little in the second check Malthus identifies due to previously
stated reasons.
When Malthus wrote his essay, he did not take into account the impact technology would
have on food production. Due to the Green Revolution which brought about the tractor,
refrigeration, chemical fertilizers, and genetic engineering, there was a tremendous
increase in food production. Until the mid-eighties, food production kept up with
population growth. Since then, it has been steadily declining. 
Grain production is declining due to soil erosion, waterlogging and salting of irrigated
land, air pollution, water shortages, and overuse of land (Berntsen 3). Technological
advances compensated for the loss of farmland. Even though less land can be used, more
food is being produced. Unfortunately, there are many indications that the world is, at
present, producing the maximum amount of food it is capable of. The combined effect of
the loss of farmland and the peaking of yield per acre impose limitations. 
The same problem is in occurrence for the meat production. Nearly all of the world's
rangelands are in use. Seventy-percent of the world's annual meat is range fed while the
other thirty-percent is grain fed. The only room for growth is in the grain fed, and that
is estimated to only grow another forty-two percent (Berntsen 2). 
Fish are also on the decline as a reliable resource for food. The destruction of spawning
grounds and the use of mile-long nylon nets has caused the overharvesting of the ocean. A
five- percent increase is optimistic (Berntsen 3). 
The result of the present being the peak in food production while the population is still
growing is frightening. If food were to be distributed equally, the food supply would be
ten pounds per week. Currently, Americans eat seventeen pounds of food per week. When the
world population reaches approximately eleven billion in the year 2050, the food supply
will be six to seven pounds per week, which is below the level of food people eat who
live in poverty today (Berntsen 1).
Malthus believed that three things cause the decline of living conditions: the
overpopulation of young; the inability of resources to keep up with the rising human
population; and the irresponsibility of the lower class (Simison 2). Malthus suggested a
regulation on the size of families of the lower class to fight this. Tunisia, which is
located in Northern Africa, has introduced birth control with remarkable results. If
overpopulation is not checked, it leads to the crowding of people and the fight for food
and water. This, in turn, leads to genocide and other means that are normally considered
inappropriate as acceptable (Geyer 2).
Equilibrium is what Malthus thought population should achieve. This is where the birth
rate equals the death rate. When this is reached, wages will stay the same and any
disturbances caused will have compensating changes (Stundbia 5). Malthus, who is credited
for this idea, did not think the human population would ever achieve it. He figured that
it would be exceeded, a positive check would result, and the cycle would start all over
again.
Taking Malthus's theories into account, the only thing that will help Africa economically
is for the population to be repressed. In fact, for the next generation or two, the
reproduction level should be below the replacement rate. This dramatically decreases the
population, therefore increasing the chances it has to grow and develop. If Africa's
population is not repressed, there will not be enough food to feed the people living
there. Even First World countries will be unable to help, because they will need all the
food they can produce. A gruesome famine will occur, with thousands dead. Africa will
experience a major setback and may possibly never recover.
I believe that much of Malthus's theory is correct. Much of the data he used in the
seventeen hundreds was incorrect, but his ideas still apply. The cycles he explained have
proven to occur. Almost all of the world's land that can be used is being used to produce
the maximum yield. Scientists have predicted the world's growth to reach eleven billion
by the year 2050 if left unchecked. Many have also agreed that the maximum food supply is
being produced. If countries such as Africa, whose population tripled from 1950 to today,
do not curb their population growth, there will not be enough food to feed them, much
less countries that are considerable better off economically. I also think that if Africa
were to be educated and there was less oppression, the result would be a lower population
growth. The idea of allowing families to have only a certain amount of children is
morally wrong. 
Some people seem to think that Malthus's ideas are extinct and do not apply to the world
today. They consider him and what he thought to be dead. But, as Pablo Neruda once said,
Everything that is buried is not dead (Geyer 1). He is still alive because his theories
can still be applied to today. The consequences of not considering Malthus's theory as a
real threat are too great. For life to exist as we know it, population must be repressed.
If not, man's subsistence will be extinct.
Bibliography
Bibliography
Berntsen, Donald G. The Malthus Syndrome On-line. Internet. 7 March 
1999.
Duffey, Mike. The Population Explosion On-line. Internet. 7 March 1999. 
Garnet. Malthus and Neo-Malthusians Western Europe- Population 
Assignment. On-line. Internet. 7 March 1999.
Geyer, Georgie Anne. Malthusian Truths About Today's World Universal Press, 
1998. On-line. Internet. 5 March 1999.
Kolasky, Bob. Africa, We Have a Problem On-line. Internet. 7 March 1999.
Simison, W. Brian. Thomas Malthus Thomas Malthus. The University of 
California Museum of Paleontology, 1994. On-line. Internet. 7 March 1999.
Stundbia, Mabvydas. Thomas Malthus on Population and Consequences on 
Economics Theory On-line. Internet. 7 March 1999.