Home > Terms > English, UK (UE) > Malthusian catastrophe

Malthusian catastrophe

A situation where the population of an area returns to subsistence living after experiencing a sharp population growth. This is because food reserves and agriculture become unable to support the huge population, causing hunger and poverty that leads to a downward spiral. It was first identified by the Reverend Thomas Malthus after he noticed that population growth is exponential but the growth of food supplies was arithmetical.

The work of Malthus is frequently used today in arguments that support birth control and population control.

This is auto-generated content. You can help to improve it.
0
Collect to Blossary

Member comments

You have to log in to post to discussions.

Terms in the News

Featured Terms

Harry8L
  • 0

    Terms

  • 0

    Blossaries

  • 1

    Followers

Industry/Domain: Energy Category: Renewable energy

Bacteria power

Electricity derived directly from bacteria. Like other cells, bacteria use electrons taken in from food to generate energy, but must ensure that these ...

Contributor

Featured blossaries

Panjshir Valley

Category: Geography   6 1 Terms

Places to Visit in Zimbabwe

Category: Travel   3 5 Terms

Browers Terms By Category