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Old 10-25-2007, 12:39 PM
Jim14Qc Jim14Qc is offline
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Join Date: Nov 2006
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Default Re: World Population Growth

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If economic booms continue in industrialising counries we can expect world population growth to eventually fall below replacement levels. This has already occured in parts of Europe (France is the key example).

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Doesn't France have one of the highest birth rates among western European countries? Your point's still valid though, immigration is what keeps population rising in the western world.

Regarding OP's idea that there is too much population for resources, there's an economist named Thomas Malthus who predicted that early in the 20th century and that's been proven wrong consistently. Over the past ~15k years, agricultural technology has always been able to rise to meet demand for food. Famines experienced in the 20th century were not due to world lack of food, but to unequal distribution. There is nowhere near a lack of food today on a worldwide scale, only a lack in certain extremely poor areas that is not due to worldwide scarcity. It can also be assumed that agricultural progresses (think GMO's among others) will be able to keep up with further population growths.

Evolution isn't limited to bodily capacities. Obviously humans have an extremely developed mind (compared to other species) and medicine is a product of that mental evolution. Medicine doesn't stop evolution, it's a product of the process.

Overall I don't think your theory is much different from Malthus', you might want to read on its refutations (I'm sure there are many online).
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