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The Population Bogey - A Malthusian Myth

By Bala Menon

A pot-bellied, prosperous businessman points an accusing finger at the swollen stomach of an emaciated, pregnant woman. And thus a myth is created, publicized and accepted. That her swollen stomach is the cause of all the known ills in the country. This myth must be shattered.

In fact, in a large country such as ours (India), there is not even a remote threat that the population will assume an uncontrollable dimension, even in the distant future. We have just about 210 persons per square mile. Compare this to the population densities of the affluent nations. The Netherlands has 990 persons, the United Kingdom 589 and Japan and Belgium about 500 per square mile. 

Where then is the population problem in India? In the minds of pot-bellied businessmen and their gargantuan representatives. So make a hullaballoo, raise a bogey and point accusing fingers. It is very convincing, especially to a gullible populace. 

Current literature on economics in underdeveloped nations is replete with theorizing on population. All the economists and the eminent acedemicians from our musty universities will reel off statistics, production and distribution figures of economic goods and then make the ridiculous statements. The pregnant woman is the criminal. Mr. Malthus must be thrilled.

There is a trick which these musty professors usually follow. Population is taken as an exogenous or autonomous variable - ie one which affects the economic system without being affected by the system. They conspire among themselves and decide that nothing should be said about the size of the population in relation to the natural resources of the country. Because that would mean the shattering of their own myths. How can they then chuckle their learned chuckles?

Our iron and coal resources are the seventh largest in the world. The problem is just that our industry works at 50 percent of its capacity. Our agricultural yield (of rice) is just 1,800 kilograms per hectare as against 5,600 of Japan or 5,000 of North Vietnam. In short, there is an underutilization of resources. And this is not because of the swollen stomach of a pregnant woman.

There is another group of prophets known as demographers. Their job is to terrify. They conjure up visions of masses of people, swarming about the world, frantically scrounging for food and clothing. This group is perhaps the most imaginative They even say that we will some day ‘hang out of windows like the day’s washing.’

Take food. Even if we follow these Neo-Malthusians into their science fiction adventure in the year 2000 A.D, (they call it a projection into the future) we find their stories incongruous. Dr. C. Taeuber, head of the statistics Branch of the Food and Agricultural Organization (FAO), asserts:  “It is feasible to bring into production some one billion hectares of land in the tropics alone and 300 million acres outside it.” Then, there are the vast oceans to be tapped.

People are an asset to any country. The larger the working population, the larger the productive forces that can be unleashed. This is indisputable. One just has to turn to modern China. This country has harnessed its population - 800 million strong - and transformed an ancient nation into a modern industrial power.

 

There is no population problem in the world today. It is just a myth we believe in. “Already in many countries of Northern Europe, … the air is so still without the sound of young voices … no laughter of children in beautiful gardens … only grown-up men and women in top-coats, sombre, unsmiling, desperately trying to fill the void of  children with their new psychedelic clothes.” Could somebody please tell me which is better?

We have already spent Rs. 318.8 million in India to kill our unborn babies. 

This article was published earlier in the Sunday Magazine, Times of India , February  29, 1976. Pictures from Pixabay.