We seem bound to learn the hard way that there really is a limit to how many people the Earth can support.
The ideas of Thomas Malthus have always loomed large; the scope includes some of the biggest issues facing humanity’s continued existence on this planet. His controversial ideas have been debated for centuries and the way we frame the debate is oftentimes in terms that are derived from Malthusian ideas (for example the terms overpopulation, carrying capacity, and sustainability). This op-ed written by the President of the Canada’s Population institute provides a way to get student to assess the strengths of an argument and to identify the bias/perspective of the author.
Questions to Ponder: What did Malthus get right? What did he get wrong?