Compare Malthusian and Neo Malthusin Theory

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Compare and contrast Malthusian and neo-Malthusian theories on overpopulation. Nowadays, considering the fact that earth has a carrying capacity of an estimated 12 billion and we have 6 billion people the growing population has become a major concern in global issues. This essay is aimed at examining Thomas Malthus’ population theory famously termed the Malthusian theory. The author will describe the positive aspects of the theory and will also regard some of his old and modern critics to his hypothesis mostly the new facet of Malthusian thought, aptly named Neo-Malthusian theory (Burkett, 1998). Largely dominated intellectually by the mid-nineteenth century the author will also examine how the Malthusian theory continues to reappear in improved new forms especially in the 20th century where it takes the form of neo-Malthusian ecology (Nevedev, 2012). With regards to production capacity and population growth Malthus’ hypothesis has been vulnerable to substantial criticism. One of the main criticisms of the Malthusian theory compared to the Neo-Malthusian theory was that Malthus’ did not put into consideration the possibility that technological improvements along with capital accumulation were forces strong enough to relax population pressure eventually improving individual’s conditions (Burkett, 1998). In his theory, Malthus claimed that as a result of diminishing marginal productivity combined with a fixed or set amount of land and growing population, individual will continue to live at a subsistence level. Applying various basic aspects of the Malthusian theory, the Neo-Malthusian thinking is a modern branch of the latter. The main differing aspect between the two theories is that Neo-Malthusianism, introduced in the late 19th century and famously re-emerging in the 1940s’, emphasises the legalisation, use and importance of birth control in alleviating

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