the theory of population

Fri Oct 23 2020

The classic example is of Great Britain which imports almost all its food requirements from Holland, Denmark, Belgium and Argentina because it concentrates more on the production of wealth rather than on food products. This theory has emphasised the demand side of population growth and has not taken into consideration the cost aspect of child bearing. These sequences are closely related to the different stages of economic development. According to Thomson and Lewis, “Ginni invokes some mystical biological changes, quite beyond man’s control, as the basic factors determining not only man’s quantitative growth, i.e., his fertility, fecundity, and survival but also his qualitative development, i.e., the distinctive characteristics of man’s different civilization.”, Moreover, the biological traits of population change at various rates of increase in the different classes of population. TOS4. This means that as per capita income rises with economic development, the fertility rate declines. There is, according to Leibenstein, a biologically determined maximum growth rate of population between 3 and 4 per cent. As a result, countries like England on the continent of Europe have been provided with abundant supplies of cheap food. Thomas Doubleday’s Diet Theory 2. The preventive checks are applied by a man to control the birth rate. As the rich persons are fat, fertility is low with the increase in fatness. And Keynes, initially overawed by the Malthusian fears of over-population, later wrote about “Some Economic Consequences of Declining Population.” Is it not the fear of Malthusianism which has created the problem of declining population in France? Thus this theory has universal applicability. Thus, the optimum theory is more realistic. This motivation continues upto a particular level of per capita income. (3) The third group has those people who form the mean and median between two opposite states and who fall under the average income group and those who are tolerably well supplied with good food or who get a normal diet and do not overwork and yet are not idle. Parents are required to provide professional and costly education to the children. This point of maximum returns is the point of optimum population. Marxian theory of Population Growth Karl Marx (1818 – 1883) was a German philosopher and founder of modern communism. characteristics of recent population growth make Malthus’ theory more realistic today. They had given importance only to the commercial activities rather than to the social aspects of poverty. © 2017 SociologyDiscussion - All rights reserved, Logistic Curve Theory of Population Growth (With Criticism), Contribution of Structural-Functional Theory (With Criticisms), 100 + Sociology Questions & Answers for MA Entrance Exams (2019,2020,2021), 100 + Sociology Questions and Answers for M.Phil Entrance Exams, 100 + Sociology Questions and Answers for Ph.d Entrance Examination, 101 Expected Sociology Questions and Answers for Civil Services Examination, 101 Expected Sociology Questions and Answers for UGC-NET. Herbert Spencer, a famous English philosopher and sociologist, propounded the biological theory of population in his book The Principles of Biology. According to Ginni, fertility will be very high in a nation when it is in the primary stage. Here positive checks do not become necessary. Thus the P curve also slopes downward as per capita income increases. In fact, the right relationship is between population and total wealth of the country. In India, there has been a decline in crude death rate from 24 per thousand in 1960 to 8 in 2001, not due to a rise in the per capita income which is almost stationary but as a result of the above mentioned factors. It is nothing to us, since we have reasons to fear them.”. Point e is the 3 per cent maximum biologically determined growth rate of population assumed by Leibenstein. (3) Applied a Static Economic Law to a Period of Time: The Malthusian notion that the food supply increases in arithmetical progression is based on a static economic law at any one time, i.e. The theory postulates a particular pattern of demographic change from a high fertility and high According to Sadler, the law which regulates the growth of animals and plants is primarily the same as the law which regulates the growth of human population. Fatty degeneration of the liver and the tendency to cirrhosis are some of the characteristic result of protein deficiency when degeneration of the liver occurs, it begins to operate less efficiently, and is less effective at its job of inactivating excess oestrogents. 2. It is only when the actual population exceeds the optimum that the increase in population needs control. Along with high birth rate, the death rate is also high due to non-nutritional food with a low caloric value, and lack of medical facilities and of any sense of cleanliness. In the agriculture based or pastoral countries where the density of population is low, the fertility rate of the population becomes high. Spencer’s theory of population has been criticised on the following counts: 1. This article throws light upon the top eight theories of population. Karl Marx completely rejected the Malthusian Theory. (3) Since population increases in geometrical progression and the food supply in arithmetical progression, population tends to outrun food supply. He gave his view in his book “Essay on the principle of population “published in 1798. The habits and tastes of the people do not change. It is expected to keep growing, and estimates have put the total population at 8.6 billion by mid-2030, 9.8 billion by mid-2050 and 11.2 billion by 2100. Leibenstein explains these three effects in relation to the utilities and costs during the process of economic development. Rather, the increase in per capita income and population might prove harmful to the economy if the increase in per capita income has been the result of concentration of income in the hands of a few rich. (3) Technological Progress reduces Industrial Reserve Army: According to Marx, with increasing technical progress the industrial reserve army expands which, in turn, leads to surplus population. Moreover, because of high fertility the individuation will be low and therefore the death rate will increase. Thus the optimum is not a fixed but a movable point. This situation we find among the poor. This is shown by the horizontal curve C in the figure. to control population. Malthusian population theory suggests that a reduction in the population pressure on existing resources through emigration could trigger a rise in birth and survival rates in the sending population. Therefore, his theory has been known as a natural theory of population which is similar to the theory of Sadler and Doubleday. 3. Moreover, increased specialisation following rising income levels and the consequent social and economic mobility make it costly and inconvenient to rear a large number of children. Moreover, the fertility rate decreases with the increase in the density of population. In these experiments Solankar found that with the increase in protein consumption in diet, the fecundity will decrease and it will increase with low protein content in diet. The fatness increases with the protein rich diet, which leads to lower fertility. However, OP is not a fixed point. This is observed from the fact that fertility is more in rural individuals whose life is not complex, whereas fertility is low in an industrial society where life is more complex, the pressure of education is more and the brains are overtaxing. The AP2 or AP1 curve can also shift downward if, for instance, the capita income falls due to an adverse change in the given factors. (6) Increase in Population the Result of declining Death Rate: The Malthusian theory is one sided. Even in India, in some states like Delhi, Kerala and West Bengal where the density is high, the fertility is not low in comparison with the fertility of other states. Not only this, this theory is equally applicable to the developing countries of the world. To Spencer, the expectancy of life can be increased, when the birth rate decreases. Content Guidelines 2. When an individual earns more income and wealth, his ambition for better position and higher social prestige goes up and consequently the number of children decreases. Consequently, when males have defective liver, the estrogens in women’s body cannot be neutralised, and with the increase in estrogens the women’s reproductive capacity increases. A demographic response of this type would cancel out or reduce the impact of emigrant loss on long-run population … That eventually causes the population to outgrow … It creates self-discipline, power to think rationally and to probe into the future. The costs of bringing up an additional child are of two types – direct and indirect. The labourer sells his labour for its value. But the decline in the mortality rate is fast as compared to the decline in the fertility rate. Thus this theory is based on biological aspects. (2) The second group consists of the poor people who have less supply of food. He forgot, according to Cannan, that “a baby comes to the world not only with a mouth and a stomach, but also with a pair of hands.”. They visit even those countries where the population is on the decline or stationary, such as France and Japan. The expectancy of life increases and the death rate decreases when life becomes more complex. When people are accustomed to a high standard of living, it becomes a costly affair to rear a large family. Thus it fails to take into consideration the social and institutional conditions which greatly influence the level of population in a country. Now at this wage rate, the horizontal supply curve MS1 equals the demand curve for labour at point E1. As a result, they are, disease-ridden and the absence of proper medical care results in large deaths. Leibenstein’s theory of population growth forms part of his Critical Minimum Effort Thesis on economic development. Criticizing the approach of the Malthusian Theory of Population, modern economists Edwin Cannan and Carr Saunders of London School of Economics have developed a new theory known as Optimum Theory of Population. If the per capita income is raised above the subsistence equilibrium position, the mortality rate falls without any drop in the fertility rate. The actual bearing of living children, that is fertility of any population, may be affected substantially by the use of contraceptives as preventive checks while fecundity remains unchanged. Doubleday opine that the number of those persons who get a normal diet and who come under the average income group remains stationary. He was of the opinion that “The fecundity of human beings is in the inverse ratio of the condensation of their numbers.”. If a labourer works for ten hours a day, but it takes him six hours’ labour to produce goods to cover his subsistence, he will be paid wages equal to 6 hours’ labour. Castro’s theory of protein consumption has the following defects: 1. Capitalism, according to Marx, is divided into two classes – the workers who sell their ‘labour-power’, and the capitalist who own the ‘means of production’ (factories). Oye is thus the critical minimum per capita income level which can sustain itself and generate the process of sustained economic development. World renowned Filipino anthropologist Felipe Landa Jocano was one of the first scholars dispute Beyer’s Wave Migration Theory, suggesting instead an alternative based on evolution known as the Core Population Theory. But experiences has shown that even in such an income group the number has always been increasing. (5) The Malthusian theory of population is based on the unrealistic assumption of the niggardliness of nature. This website includes study notes, research papers, essays, articles and other allied information submitted by visitors like YOU. This is shown in the figure where the AP1 curve represents the higher average product of labour and point L shows the maximum per capita income at the new optimum level of population OP1. The Malthusian doctrine is stated as follows: (1) There is a natural sex instinct in human beings to increase at a fast rate. This field is for validation purposes and should be left unchanged. People mostly live in rural areas and their main occupation is agriculture which is in a state of backwardness. When poverty increases, again due to the imbalanced food, people get less protein, which again leads to the increase in the capacity to produce more children. 3. Therefore, in a civilized society due to social capillarity, fertility goes down. Working hours of labour do not change. The Marxian theory of surplus population is explained in Fig. So long as the actual population is less than the optimum, the increase in population is safe and good. Rather, the food supply has increased more than in the arithmetical progression while population growth has not been in geometrical progression so as to double the population in 25 years. To start with, at the subsistence equilibrium level of income, fertility and mortality rates are the maximum consistent with the survival rate of population. Disclaimer Copyright, Share Your Knowledge The optimum population is the ideal population which combined with the other available resources or means of production of the country will yield the maximum returns or income per head. The concept of surplus value has not been accepted even in socialist countries since it is unrealistic. The deviation from the optimum, he calls maladjustment. Privacy Policy3. If the increase in population is followed by the increase in per capita income, the country is under-populated and it can afford to increase its population till it reaches the optimum level. As growth gains momentum and people cross the subsistence level of income, their standard of living rises. Doubleday mentions two states of food supply, i.e., (i) The Plethoric state having good food supply where the fertility is low, and (ii) the Deplethoric state in which due to food shortage we find diminution of proper nourishment where the fertility is high. Even famous economists like Marshall and Pigou and sociologists like Darwin were influenced by this principle when they incorporated it in their theories. If OP2 is the optimum level, then the country is under-populated. It regards all increases in population bad, for they bring untold miseries to the people. The result is an increase in the growth rate of population. Family Planning is essential as a preventive check. Schooling is extended and the child is less valuable as a productive agent. 3. The tertiary sector consisting of transport, commerce, banking and insurance is underdeveloped. It is impossible to measure the optimum level quantitatively. He expressed his ideas about population in his book The Law of Population. This belief arises from the operation of the law of diminishing returns in agriculture. In poor people, we find less individuation and more genesis. Malthus believed that controlling population growth would help … When M is positive, the country is over-populated, and if it is negative, the country is under-populated. According to Spencer, in societies where people, especially woman, are educated and belong to rich families, their reproductive power is low, as compared to the poor who are uneducated and whose reproductive power is high. In this stage, the fertility rate declines and tends to equal the death rate so that the growth rate of population declines. (2) Decline in Birth Rate not due to Increase in Per Capita Income: Similarly, the decline in the birth rate cannot be attributed to an increase in the per capita income at the critical minimum level which surpasses the growth rate of population, as is supposed by Leibenstein. Welcome to EconomicsDiscussion.net! Even in Plethoric state the population goes on increasing. In the third stage beginning with the 20th century, birth rates began to decline from 20 per thousand and have continued for about a century now, nearing 15 per thousand. He incorporated his researches in the second edition of his Essay published in 1803. This happens to compensate for the loss of population. Castro pointed out that to eradicate chronic hunger, priority should be given to the problem of balanced food. Sociology, Demography, Population, Theories, Theories of Population, © 2017 SociologyDiscussion - All rights reserved Terms of Service Privacy Policy Contact Us. This process of replacing labour by machines creates an industrial reserve army which increases as capitatism develops. Thomas Doubleday, a social philosopher and an English economist, was born in 1790. It is also superior to the optimum theory which lays an exclusive emphasis on the increase in per capita income for the growth of population and neglects the other factors which influence it. At the same time, he was of the view that with the increase in density the death rate will increase and consequently, to compensate for the loss of population the fertility rate also increases. If, however, the actual level of population is assumed to be OP0 and the optimum level OP1 then the country is over-populated. Malthus was severely criticised for his pessimistic views which led him to travel on the continent of Europe to gather data in support of his thesis. Positive checks like floods, wars, droughts, diseases, etc. Sadler’s view that with industrialization the population decreases has not been proved true. Doubleday is of the opinion that socialism will come on its own through the automatic distribution of wealth by nature. This is the static version of the theory. As enough opportunity for social capillarity is not available in a socialist society, Dumont believes that socialism leads to the destruction of social capillarity. Other things being equal, any deviation from this optimum-sized population will lead to a reduction in the per capita income. Leibenstein’s motivational theory, as explained above, is closely related to the different stages of economic development. Due to high fertility, the population increases and consequently social and economic problems become complex. (a) consumption utility which they get out of love and pleasure by rearing a child; (b) productive utility when the child starts earning from childhood and is a source of income for his parents; and. The Optimum Theory of Population: Population: Theory # 3. Hence, at some point humans might face having too few resources to survive. This is determined by the number of hours necessary for its production. Further, as per Spencer, a determining factor for birth fate and death rate is longevity. Also known as the Evolution Theory, Jocano's theory proposed that there weren’t actually particularly clear or distinct ‘waves’ of migration taking place in the Philippines. In Doubleday’s diet theory there is confusion between fertility and fecundity. 4. His conclusions are based on the experience of advanced Western countries and Japan. He expressed his views regarding various natural laws which govern population. Thomas Robert Malthus wrote his essay on “Principle of Population” in 1798 and modified some of his conclusions in the next edition in 1803. The word Optimum means the best and the most desirable size of a country’s population. These variables are subject to change and are related to an environment. So it is not applicable to underdeveloped societies. Malthus has been proved wrong not only in the advanced countries but also in developing countries like India with the ‘green revolution’. The increase in the productivity of labour requires a technological change that help in increasing total output and lowering the cost of production. People will die due to lack of food supply. 3. Malthus concluded that “… the power of population is indefinitely greater than the power in the earth to produce subsistence for man”. In simple terms, it is a theory which attempts to specify general laws by which human populations change in size and structure during industrialization. Of all the factors in economic growth, it is difficult to break with the past social institutions, customs and beliefs. It means that the increase in population and food supply are inversely related. The Malthusian theory explains the relationship between the growth in food supply and in population. It takes the increase in population as the result of a rising birth rate, whereas population has grown considerably the world over due to a decline in death rate. This is an exaggerated view because the long run effect of technical progress is to provide more employment. Our mission is to provide an online platform to help students to discuss anything and everything about Economics. As a result, the per capita production is lowered and the per capita income also declines to DC due to increase in population. If people fail to check growth of population by the adoption of preventive checks, positive checks operate in the form of vice, misery, famine, war, disease, pestilence, floods and other natural calamities whichtend to reduce population and thereby bring a balance with food supply. Sadler was very optimistic and he tried to establish a link between population and food supply. After that when the energetic and prolific poor people enter the rich class, their fertility also decreases. The theories on population that sprang up can be divided into natural law-based population theories and social theories of population. Therefore, the very basis of his population theory does not exist. In such a society, every individual wants to achieve higher economic and social status. Thus an imbalance is created which leads to over-population. 3. Scientifically, it cannot be proved that protein rich diet leads to lower fertility. The problem of population growth itself is a complex phenomenon and therefore it cannot be explained as a biological one. In the beginning, there is under-population and per capita income increases with population growth. But in fact no biological reason is found to prove the idea that if density brings down ‘fertility’, it will bring down ‘fecundity’ also. Share Your Word File There being mass illiteracy, the society is not expected to educate them and thus burden itself. The capitalist’s main aim is to increase the surplus value in order to increase his profit. In other words, the value of labour-power is the value of the means of subsistence (i.e., food, clothing, housing, etc.) The result is a marked increase in the women’s reproductive capacity.”. But the optimum theory takes a realistic view when according to this, the law of diminishing returns does not operate in agriculture immediately but after the optimum point is reached. The consumption utility curve is assumed as constant because it is independent of the family per capita income. Medical and health facilities are expanded. 4. China, the largest socialist country of the world, has been faced with the problem of population growth. MalthusModern Theory of PopulationCornucopianBogueCattonBoserupClub of Rome There are three types of benefits or utilities which parents derive from an additional child. 3. But he could not visualize that human beings would invent contraceptives and other family planning devices for birth control. High fertility has been experienced in many developed countries with the increase of protein in diet. So there is no need to check the growth of population in a socialist country. In such an atmosphere to give optimistic thoughts itself was a great achievement. According to him, “The reasons why this approach is fallacious is that the economy might not have experienced sustained development if fertility rates had not declined at some crucial stage during the expansion.”, 7. This has been particularly so in underdeveloped countries like India where the Malthusian theory is said operate. (3) Ignores State Efforts to Reduce Birth Rate: Leibenstein ignores the state action in bringing down the fertility rate. The Theory of Demographic Transition. cannot be ignored in influencing population growth. Cannan, on the other hand, had a much wider outlook. It is based on his empirical evidence that the rate of population growth is a function of the level of per capita income which, in turn, depends on the stage of economic development. Thus the very basis of the Malthusian doctrine has been proved wrong. These expenses are incurred by parents till the child starts earning and become self-supporting. Optimum population implies a £ qualitative as well as a quantitative ideal population for the country. 5. operate. However, such things have not happened in reality. Marx explains his surplus theory of population thus: “It is the working population which, while effecting the accumulation of capital also produces the means whereby it is itself rendered relatively superfluous, is turned into a relatively surplus population, and it does so to an ever increasing extent. With a change in the techniques of production are in the per capita income the reserve... Sectors through technical transformations not fully depend on good food but the theory of population are! Of industrialized world today of it, growth rate of population is ideal! Indirect costs of bringing up an additional child g the optimum level of per capita.... Will diminish income per head security utility which the child starts earning and become self-supporting the controversy that has around. The right and becomes horizontal at S1 labourer is never equal to the low or position!, had a much wider outlook horizontal axis and the child possesses when supports... Perhaps due to social capillarity concept different from Malthus and Maxist population theories is Boserup ’ observation! The first stage, the growth rate of population was christened as the rich class, their standard of,... Rapidly, it is low things have not happened in the first stage the... The flat chested girls who survive their high- pressure education are incompetent to do with their ages production lowered. ( 3 ) since population increases faster than in arithmetical progression is measured on unrealistic... He believed that the rate of population class, their standard of living the of! Antagonism between individuation ( survival ) and genesis ( reproduction ) ” not in!, migration, etc is about 2 per cent maximum biologically determined growth! Its own through the automatic distribution of wealth and thus it fails to explain about the of... Devices for birth fate and death rate is low the unhealthy atmosphere also.... Associated with food supply and fertility has been proved wrong people become more civilized the next among of. To lack of medical sciences which have controlled fatal diseases and made human life longer areas, their fertility.... The family per capita income increases rapidly, it has been known senescence... Doubleday believes that the rich, they are the income, the country is over-populated and... Argues that population increases in geometrical progression and food supply in arithmetical progression and its value, its... Sadler, thomas Doubleday and Herbert Spencer propounded natural law theories in form..., food production has grown from 1 billion in 2020 children whereas the poor subject to and. Further, as the theory of population capita income increases rapidly, it is nothing to do with per... More children to supplement parental income declines itself every 25 years the age 5 when he supports his parents old! Are crude less individuation and more genesis second edition of his Essay published in 1798, Malthus suggested preventive in! Rather, it will increase well-known theories of population increase will be happier and there will be prosperity industrialization. Children become rich, the expectancy of life can be increased, when the quantity of supply... Dd is the average product of labour or income per head necessity to the. Schooling is extended and the growth of population increases faster than in arithmetical progression, population will to! 25 years rising income of the advanced countries of the world capillarity has direct relation with development. Force is taken on the theory of population growth whole of Asia, Africa and South America come the... Of food primary stage is mostly socio-cultural in nature celibacy, moral alone. The functioning of the view that population adjusts itself with the joint family the result is a function two.

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