Overpopulation Overreaction

It is a widely held belief that there are too many people in the world. It's impossible to watch television, listen to the radio, or read newspapers for long without seeing numerous references to overpopulation, often accompanied by calls for drastic measures in population reduction. In reality, overpopulation is a nonexistent problem. The term "over" implies some sort of objective standard. In order for overpopulation to be a real problem there must be undesirable conditions caused by a certain number of people. If we can't find any such problems then we can reasonably conclude that overpopulation is not a problem. Problems typically attributed to overpopulation include increasing poverty, famines, disease, and environmental destruction. All of the problems cited are clearly becoming less acute over time. The evidence in each one of these areas fails to support the argument that the planet is overpopulated. Food is abundant, life expectancy is at an all-time high, and economic prosperity is more widespread than ever before.

For example, in the past 100 years there has been not been a single instance famine that has not been caused by civil war, irrational economic policies, or the deliberate actions of government. Since 1948, according to the UN Food and Agriculture Organization and the U.S. Department of Agriculture, "annual world food production has outpaced the increase in population. Today, per capita production and per-acre yields are at all-time highs. Prices of agricultural products have been falling for over 100 years. The average inflation-adjusted price of those products, indexed to wages, fell by more than 74 percent between 1950 and 1990."

Humans are living longer than ever. The increase in life expectancy at birth has been dramatic. "Between 1950-55 and 1980-85, the average increase worldwide was 13 years, up 29 percent. In the industrialized world, life expectancy went from 65 years to 73 years." But the biggest gains occurred in the third world, where the life expectancy "went from 41 to over 56-a 38 percent increase." The improvements were particularly notable in East Asia, where life spans increased by more than 25 years during this time.

There is a strong correspondence between affluence and longevity. The lengthening life expectancy throughout the world is a strong indication that population growth cannot be increasing poverty. The Cato Institute's Sheldon Richman points out that "The West grew rich precisely when its population was increasing at an unprecedented rate. Between 1776 and 1975, while the world's population increased six-fold, real gross world product rose about 80-fold." Increased population and increased prosperity are not mutually exclusive. It isn't a coincidence that with a few exceptions, the most densely populated areas of the world also happen to be the richest. An increase in population equals an increase in producers and creators. In other words, increased populations allow for a more highly developed division of labor, which in turn increases productivity and technological progress.

The fact that the world's population is at an all-time high isn't something that we should regret; it's something that we should celebrate. The dramatic increase in human population over the past century is a result of our mounting victories in our war on death and poverty.

Unfortunately, many people don't feel that way. When the planet's population hit 6 billion people this year, there were renewed calls for increased population control measures from government. The proposals run the gamut from offering free contraception to implementing a worldwide one-family/ one-child policy similar to China's. One would think that we would have learned our lesson following the atrocities committed in China, India, Bangladesh and other countries in the name of population control. The flaw of all population control measures is that they treat humans as burdens. A much better way to alleviate the problems of poverty and disease falsely associated with population growth is to treat humans as the valuable resources that they are. In other words, let them be free.