Michael Schuman

Was Malthus right?

Correspondent, Time Magazine, Jul 15, 11.

Tagged with food, population, food security, malthus

Thomas Malthus penned his terrifying vision for the future of mankind more than two centuries ago, but it still haunts us today. He believed that we could never overcome two basic laws of nature – man’s ability to procreate would always outstrip our planet’s ability to feed everybody. His view is one of perpetual poverty and misery, of a society that could never alleviate man’s suffering. (He must have been a ton of laughs at a party.) It’s a compelling argument, and to a certain extent, Malthus has proven prescient. There are 925 million people who go hungry every day, despite the amazing economic prosperity we’ve enjoyed over the past 60 years. And twice in the past three years we’ve suffered through destabilizing spikes in the cost of food that have trapped tens of millions in poverty. Today, prices are nearly at historic highs.

So was Malthus right? That’s the subject of my latest story in TIME magazine. The answer: He might be, if we don’t get our act together.
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