OPINION

The worldwide population boon

Oped, Published on 31/03/2023

» An easy way to start a long, heated debate is to mention global population. Thomas Malthus famously ignited furious arguments in the 19th century when he warned that, absent fertility-control policies, exponential population growth would outpace improvements in agriculture and cause recurrent bouts of famine and pestilence. Industrialisation would postpone the crisis, but not forever.