Day 11, Tuesday March 24: Malthusianism at Breakfast
Leave it to hubby Scientist Steve to raise the topic of Malthus’ theory during brunch. Had I heard of it/him, he asked. Somehow, I pulled from my hat that it might have something to do with the earth recalibrating itself through disease and pestilence. I was on the right track. In 1798, Reverend Thomas Robert Malthus set forth his theories on over-population and food supply in An Essay on the Principle of Population. Malthus believed that population growth was exponential, whereas food supply linear. Food shortages would occur after great population growth, until war, disease or famine reduced the population to a level that the food supply could sustain.
Steve and I speculated whether the earth could be seeking, via a worldwide plague, to improve balance between natural resources and the population. It actually gave me some comfort to think that this could be part of a ‘bigger picture’ to set the planet back on a sustainable path.
Madonna, reporting from her bathtub, has called the Coronavirus “the great equalizer.” A reminder that we’re all in this together. If Malthus was on the right track, the earth plays no favorites.
Scientific American Article on Malthus
