What Overpopulation Problem?

Contrary to what people assume, the world isn’t becoming more overpopulated. Not only is world food production growing faster than the world’s population, but it is continuing to increase while world population fertility rates are declining. What is clear is that as a country develops economically, birth rates decline. Thus, if we want to reduce population growth we must promote prosperity.

Malthusians are never wrong about the over-population threat. They simply explain that their pessimistic predictions have only been postponed by several years until the apocalypse arrives. The problem facing us isn’t population. It is economics and politics. The world is not running out of living space or resources. The fact is that the world is easily capable of sustaining populations far in excess of current population figures even without developing any new farming methods or technologies. We actually live in a world of abundance and not one of scarcity. Hard to accept when you look around and witness the deprivation and destitution many experience.

What is behind the preoccupation with “overpopulation”? Is it really the concern for the welfare of the world’s people? It often seems that overpopulation is a term used to describe countries inhabited by non-whites only. Few reference the Netherlands as being overpopulated. The `teeming masses’ aren't located in New Jersey. And should we be surprised at how in India, the Hindus blame the Muslims for their family sizes and high birth-rate? In this age, prejudice is not publicly acceptable, so it is disguised in “scientific” and “environmental” terms.

People often assume that countries are poor because they have too many people and not enough resources. But this just doesn’t hold any water. Look at Africa which is sparsely populated and has vast tracts of unfarmed arable land as well as being endowed with a wide variety of mineral wealth. Africa’s potential is staggering. Once Africa was a food self-sufficient and an exporter. The failure of Africa is the failure of capitalism, not the failure of the African people. Overpopulation is blamed for hunger and famine everywhere, particularly in Africa. But, Africa is the least densely populated of all the continents and has the ability to feed the entire world twice over. Yet still, Africa is impoverished. Poverty is so commonplace that it is expected. A scapegoat must be found. The accepted theory is that it is the fault of the Africans themselves. They reproduce too quickly and that is why they are starving. It is a case of blaming the victim.