Malthusians – Geography

Would you describe your views as more akin to the NeoMalthusians or Anti Malthusians? Why? 

 

Both the views of Neo Malthusian and Anti Malthusian are both quite extreme. Although I am usually an optimist in life, I would place myself as in between Neo Malthusian and Anti Malthusian. There are some things I agree with both sides on and other things that I disagree with.

I personally believe that we need to make changes to the way we live to ensure that we don’t keep consuming at our current rate. I do believe there is a limit to the amount of resources we have on earth. I also do believe we should change our habits for the betterment of the environment. I am optimistic that we will be able to survive without drastically decreasing our population. I believe that we will be able to sustainable live with our population size but our consumption habits are what have to change. Many resources that we rely heavily on are finite such as coal or oil. If we continue to consume at the rate we are consuming at and continue to increase our population, we will reach a crisis. This will not mean the end of the world but it will cause many problems of different levels. Unless we are able to suddenly discover technology that helps preserve these finite resources or find more of these natural resources, we will need to make drastic changes.

I do believe that being 100% optimistic comes with it’s problems. You will have to think realistically which could lean towards a more pessimistic approach. A good balance of 50%, 50% will allow me to think from both sides of the spectrum and come up with ideas that can help us use our resources in the most effective and sustainable ways for the future. It is sometimes even better to be slightly more pessimistic as it causes you think of ideas that could eventually prevent a crisis or fall of a current system. It will be a driving point for invention and adaptation. If people are forced to change their habits due to fear, at least that gets people to change their consumption habits.

That’s why I really believe that any little change I make to my consumption habits goes a long way. Even if it’s just turning the lights off when I don’t need them or denying a plastic bag at the grocery store. Any step in the right direction goes a long way.

 

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One thought on “Malthusians – Geography

  • January 15, 2018 at 1:03 pm
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    A realistic approach to the issue: I can see that you are torn. While the thought of a dramatic decline in population is too horrible to imagine, we have to be aware of the consequences of our current behaviours and the potential for causing more hardship in the future.
    Try to use examples in your writing: are there countries where you feel the Malthusian scenarios are coming to pass? And on a larger scale than the individual what other actions do you think are necessary?

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