neo-malthusian

A proponent of Neo-Malthusianism

Relating to Neo-Malthusianism.

In it, [Paul] Ehrlich and his wife, Anne, presented a neo-Malthusian scenario of imminent population explosion and ensuing disaster. "The battle to feed all of humanity is over," the Ehrlichs warned.

The introduction by Science editors, like the coverage in National Geographic earlier this year, notes the failure, so far, of neo-Malthusian predictions of global doom from overpopulation and centers on the reality that population pressures, and problems, are local and focused in hot spots.

Alternative letter-case form of Neo-Malthusian (“proponent of Neo-Malthusianism”).

The neo‐Malthusians have for some time dominated discussions of world population. In their gloom, some even calculated a date by which the planet would have so many people that there would be no room for anybody to lie down.

(A side note: Whenever I write about efforts to save children from malaria or diarrhea, I get cynical letters from neo-Malthusians who argue that saving children’s lives is pointless until birthrates drop. That’s incorrect. There’s abundant evidence that when parents are confident that their children will live, they will have fewer and invest more in each of them.)