Malthus' Theory - Do you support it?
Malthus's theory of population - "Human population increases at a geometric rate, doubling about every 25 years if unchecked, while agricultural production increases arithmetically—much more slowly. Therein lay a biological trap that humanity could never escape."
He said that , "The power of population is indefinitely greater than the power in the earth to produce subsistence for man,"
This holds true today, as per a Nat Geo article in June 2009 where in it says that in 2008 there were 75 million more people pushed into poverty due to high food prices and this happened at a time when farmers around the world had record harvests.
Malthus's solution -
1.Strong, constant and voluntary checks by the govt, such as birth control, abstinence, or delayed marriage—or involuntary, through the scourges of war, famine, and disease.
2. He advocated against food relief for all but the poorest of people, since he felt such aid encouraged more children to be born into misery.
I'd like to hear peoples' opinions on point 2 of the Malthus solution.
