We explain what neo-Malthusianism is and how it differs from the theory of Thomas Malthus. In addition, we tell you why it is criticized.
What is neo-Malthusianism?
Neo-Malthusianism (also written neomalthusianism) is the political doctrine that partially rescues the demographic and economic theories of the British Thomas Robert Malthus (1766-1834), according to which human population growth brings with it a scarcity of the resources necessary for its survival and produces a less habitable environment, which which can even cause the extinction of the species.
It is not, however, a unified doctrinal movement, but rather a a set of demographic, political and economic discourses around the impact of population growth on the quality of life of the people.
This doctrine emerged at the end of the 19th century and had a huge boom in France and the United States, as well as Spain, Portugal and several Latin American countries, where it was associated with the labor movement. However, it can still be found in the 20th century, in the voices of those who call for the control of the world population, whose increase they relate to the decrease in usable natural resources.
Broadly speaking, neo-Malthusianism reformulated classical Malthusian precepts to think about the poor classes of the industrial world. In their view, the unlimited reproduction of proletarian families is the main factor that condemns them to misery, since the more descendants there are, the smaller the distribution of available resources ends up being.
As a solution to this problem, neo-Malthusianism proposes the education of the population for the necessary separation between sex and reproduction that is, the defense of free motherhood, female liberation, contraception, abortion and family planning.
This way of thinking was very popular in the first half of the 20th century, until the arrival of World War II, when it was then associated with the eugenics practiced by the Nazis and their theories of social Darwinism. However, new neo-Malthusian positions appeared in countries with massive populations, such as China or India, in the second half of the century. Besides, still continue in the 21st century, as part of different ecological discourses.
The importance of neo-Malthusianism lies in the fact that raised one of the first modern reflections on the uncontrolled proliferation of the population and its effects in a context of scarce resources. Thus, the neo-Malthusian worker positions reached the conclusion that only birth control would reduce the cycle of impoverishment of the proletariat and allow, among other things, the emancipation of women.
On the other hand, conservative neo-Malthusian positions understood birth control as a justification to prevent the lower classes from accessing greater resources, since in their view the latter would have encouraged increased reproduction in them.
See also: World overpopulation
Differences between Malthusianism and neo-Malthusianism
The main differences between Malthusianism and its contemporary aspects (that is, neo-Malthusianism) can be summarized as:
| Malthusianism | Neo-Malthusianism |
|---|---|
| He warned that population proliferation would lead to the end of the human species due to the lack of resources. | He warned that the population proliferation of the lower classes of society is a central element in the reproduction of their poverty. |
| He proposed wars, plagues and famine as “remedies” to the dilemma. On the part of humanity, sexual repression, the promotion of chastity and the delay of marriage. | He proposed education and awareness of the scarcity of resources as remedies to the dilemma, as well as free motherhood, contraception, abortion and the definitive separation between sex and reproduction. |
| It was a largely conservative doctrine, which served to justify the preservation of the status quo socioeconomic and the implementation of anti-popular measures, such as Poor Laws 19th century British. | It did not consist of an ideologically unified doctrine, so there were more conservative interpretations and others more liberal. Among the latter, many come from the worker movement and the Soviet Union. |
Criticisms of neo-Malthusianism
Just like classical Malthusianism, neo-Malthusian positions have been openly criticized for their basic scientific inaccuracy, since It has already been statistically demonstrated that populations do not increase their numbers based on a geometric progression, as Malthus stated so the available resources are not exhausted with the speed and probability that the British predicted.
However, the greatest amount of criticism of his doctrine comes from the political sphere. Until the 20th century there were political sectors that professed a “natalist” vision, that is, they understood a large population as a factor of wealth and power of nations. These sectors used to be related to nationalism; For example, the Italian dictator Benito Mussolini called on women to give new children to the country.
Instead, Other detractors of neo-Malthusianism saw in his approaches the justification of inequality and the unequal distribution of opportunities in society. Furthermore, they argued that the neo-Malthusian emphasis on birth control distracted the political debate from other equally or more important elements, such as access to resources and state protection for the poorest classes.
Finally, Many neo-Malthusian positions are associated with eugenics and forced sterilization that different fascist regimes implemented in the 20th century and therefore associated with a racist and ultra-conservative ideology. At the same time, the implementation of neo-Malthusian doctrines of birth control in the Soviet Union and especially in revolutionary China have been criticized for their pernicious effects on the population balance.
Continue with: Demographics
References
- “Malthusianism” on Wikipedia.
- “The Malthusian ideology” by Juan José Sanguineti in the Digital Catholic Library.
- “Neo-Malthusianism and Coercive Population Control in China and India: Overpopulation Concerns Often Result in Coercion” by Chelsea Follett at CATO Institute.
- “Thomas Malthus (English economist and demographer)” in The Encyclopaedia Britannica.
