Question

Who among the following stated that the number of people would increase faster than the food supply?

• A. Taylor
• B. Blache
• C. Malthus
• D. Cressy

Answer 1

The Correct Option is C

Thomas Malthus proposed the theory that population growth would outpace food production, leading to widespread famine and hardship.

Answer 2

Thomas Malthus, an English economist and demographer, proposed the theory in the late 18th century that population growth would inevitably outpace the production of food. According to Malthus, population grows geometrically (exponentially), while food production grows arithmetically (linearly). This imbalance, he argued, would lead to a situation where the population would exceed the capacity of the land to produce food, resulting in widespread famine, disease, and hardship.

Malthus believed that this imbalance would lead to a "positive check" on population growth, such as famine, disease, and war, which would reduce the population back to a sustainable level. Additionally, Malthus argued that, in the absence of preventive checks (such as moral restraint or birth control), population would continue to grow until it reached a point where the food supply could no longer sustain it.

Though Malthus' predictions did not fully materialize due to advances in agriculture and technology that have significantly increased food production, his theory remains influential in discussions of population, food security, and environmental sustainability. Modern critics point out that the relationship between population growth and food supply is more complex than Malthus originally proposed, with factors like technological innovation, economic development, and distribution playing key roles in determining food availability.