TEOTWAWKI 6: Malthus' Revenge

The human population has been growing exponentially for a long
time. It’s been continuously growing since the Black Death in the
1300s – and although wars, famines, and plagues cause occasional
blips in the growth since, it’s been pretty close to exponential
since the Industrial Revolution kicked off. Now Malthus was not
the only one to notice this, before I get letters, but he is
indisputably the one who has his name most closely associated
with the concept. Malthus, among others, saw this in the 1790s
and said “Oh, boy.” He was afraid that human population would
overshoot the availability of resources: and then things would
really hit the fan:

“Famine seems to be the last, the most dreadful resource of
nature. The power of population is so superior to the power of
the earth to produce subsistence for man, that premature death
must in some shape or other visit the human race. The vices of
mankind are active and able ministers of depopulation. They are
the precursors in the great army of destruction, and often finish
the dreadful work themselves. But should they fail in this war of
extermination, sickly seasons, epidemics, pestilence, and plague
advance in terrific array, and sweep off their thousands and tens
of thousands. Should success be still incomplete, gigantic
inevitable famine stalks in the rear, and with one mighty blow
levels the population with the food of the world.”


Could a Malthusian catastrophe hit us today? 
Can our society adapt to the continued demand for exponential
growth?
What would it look like, in the modern world?

Find out in this week's TEOTWAWKI