SOC 170 Exam 2

What is the earth’s human carrying capacity?

The theoretical maximum number of humans that the Earth can support.

What is the calculation of carrying capacity?

Total resources/per person need

Can we accurately determine the earth’s human carrying capacity? Why or why not?

No, because it depends on subjective and changing variables, such as resource consumption, innovation or destruction, and standards of living. These questions are value-laden and controversial.

What is the central perspective and ideas of Thomas Malthus?

• "First Doomster" (holding an an anti-growth perspective)

• He argued that population grows geometrically (faster) while food supply grows arithmetically (slower).

• As a consequence, population growth outpaces food supply, leading to poverty and shortages.

• He proposed population checks:

  • Positive checks (increase death rate): Wars, famines, disease, and starvation.

  • Preventative checks (reduce birth rate): Moral restraint, delayed marriage, and birth control.

What is the central perspective and ideas of Paul Ehrlich?

• The best-known neo-Malthusian (holding an anti-growth/doomster perspective)

• He authored The Population Bomb, which focused heavily on population control, catastrophic risks of overpopulation, and starvation.

• He argued that population grows as long as birth rates exceed death rates.

• He warned that rapid population growth would continue even in developing countries, causing populations to double quickly.

• Used historical doubling times to demonstrate how rapidly population growth accelerates.

Which individuals are considered doomsters?

Thomas Malthus and Paul Ehrlich

Which individuals are considered boomsters?

Dean Spears and Michael Geruso

What is the evidence that we survived the “population bomb”?

• Increased Food Production: Global and per-capita food production increased from 1960 to 2010, outpacing population growth.

• Fewer Famine Deaths: Deaths from major famines declined dramatically, reaching near-zero by the 2000s.

• Decreased Poverty: Global poverty rates declined between 1981 and 2005.

• Improved Education

What is the endogenous growth theory?

• According to Romer, people matter because they create ideas.

• More People = More Ideas

• Economic Nature of Ideas:

  • Non-rival goods: Many people can use the same idea without preventing others from using it.

  • Partially excludable: Creators can limit access to their ideas, but cannot completely prevent others from benefiting.

What is the Marxist perspective?

The population size or growth itself is not the problem, social systems (how resources are structured and distributed) are. This perspective advocates for “better manners,” fairer resource distribution and social reform rather than fewer people (“fewer forks”) or more resources (“bigger pie”).