I think the general category that malthusianism falls into is that it is a good-sounding theory with a very poor track record of accuracy. It is worth thinking about why people still believe these sorts of ideas despite Malthusians being absolutely abominable at predicting the future.
Even with the evidence available to us today, the arguments of this paper are provably ridiculous. There is a feedback loop in human populations. It's called modernity. Essentially every industrialized country has a reproductive rate below replacement.
> Essentially every industrialized country has a reproductive rate below replacement.
That's certainly true for the short and medium term.
And yet, evolution marches on.
So far, the Amish (or at least many of them) seem to be pretty successful at keeping their fertility high. I'm sure there are other, less visible, subpopulations where that is true as well.
This article actually feels like it's baiting for questions about nuclear power. "Coal, oil, solar, wind, hydro are inadequate powers sources. Therefore your family must be reduced in numbers." Nuclear is mentioned but its use as a power source is hardly addressed.
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[ 3.3 ms ] story [ 22.5 ms ] threadEven with the evidence available to us today, the arguments of this paper are provably ridiculous. There is a feedback loop in human populations. It's called modernity. Essentially every industrialized country has a reproductive rate below replacement.
That's certainly true for the short and medium term.
And yet, evolution marches on.
So far, the Amish (or at least many of them) seem to be pretty successful at keeping their fertility high. I'm sure there are other, less visible, subpopulations where that is true as well.