Revisiting The Overpopulation Myth In Light Of The Pandemic

BY IYARE ESOHE EWAENOSA

On facebook, a mother posted a picture of her third baby with the caption ‘many more to come by God’s grace’; and the comment section was rife with responses which, more or less, were screaming the scandalized question: isn’t three ENOUGH?

It has become a norm to associate large families with poverty and illiteracy, whilst smaller numbers (3 and less) are casually nodded at as a sign of literacy and forward thinking.

This is because every learned person should have, in their studies of Economics, come across the Malthian Theory (1798) and the concept of the Earth’s overpopulation.

Put briefly, the theory posits that the Earth’s population will surpass its available resources, especially food production. Such exponential levels of consumption, according to proponents, is unsustainable and will eventually lead to a barren earth which can no longer support the human species. Therefore, our race is in danger of extinction.

Overpopulation 1

People have latched onto this theory, claiming it is commonsensical especially in light of the United Nations’ (UN) projection that global population will rise by one billion every 15years; and the world hunger and poverty crises as well. “If we were less” They reason “there would be enough of everything to go around and no one would be destitute”.

The remarkable resolution of such thinking is a movement termed ‘Zero Population Growth’, in which every woman is encouraged to have two children, so that when her and her husband die, the population would remain as stable as it was when they themselves were children. This is why many people see three children as the limit of responsible procreation.

A major criticism of the reasoning behind this movement is that it discounts other factors that can affect population such as: lifestyle, war and pandemics. The first is obvious in the case of Japan, whose reproductive population (roughly 15-44yrs) considers marriage and procreation much less desirable compared to an independent life; the second can be verified by pointing to Russia’s population pyramid; but the last seemed so unlikely in the age of astronomical science and modern medicine that not even an eyelash quivered in its direction. Yet, here we are.

The coronavirus pandemic has single-handedly debunked the ‘overpopulation theory’ as the myth that it is. Not many took notice of the 10year old website, dedicated to disproving the flawed constructions on which this myth was built; but maybe now they will.

 Because the ultimate proof this pandemic has provided, is the illustration that what people decry as ‘global overpopulation’ is actually urban overcrowding.

Ooverpopulation 2

The countries that have been the worst hit by the virus, are countries that have intensely overcrowded urban areas. Take the United States as an example. America is leading the global case load with over 4million confirmed cases. The greatest percentage of those cases are found in Califonia and New York- which are fantastic examples of urban overcrowding.

Less crowded areas in the US territory, like American Samoa have recorded NO cases of corona virus; and what’s more?This is not the first time they’ve been safe during a pandemic, they also lived through the 1918 influenza pandemic rather well. You may think that’s because American Samoa is an Island, but cities like it in the US mainland like Wyoming have reported only 3 cases, Alaska and North Dakota have just 1 each, and West Virginia has none!

If we hover our spectacles over our own country we’ll realise that the reason behind Lagos’ exponential rise in number of cases can also be linked to the fact that Lagos is the most overcrowded city in Africa, due to rural-urban migration and immigration.

READ ALSO: Here’s one last example to drive the point home. In India, when residents of the overcrowded urban areas were feeling the economic pinch of the pandemic, there was such a massive exodus that according to the Financial Times: desperate migrants crammed themslelves in the back of container trucks.

READ ALSO: At Dopemu, Lagos, It’s Lockdown Without Social Distancing

Therefore, let it be noted that global overpopulation is a myth. Statistics show that the entire population of the world can comfortably fit on a land mass the size of the US state of Texas, with over 1000 square feet of living area per person–that’s a moderately sized house!

Urban overcrowding is the real problem that needs to be addressed. Effort should be put to develop the vast areas of habitable land to support quality living, rather than puffing the smoke of overpopulation misconstructions to fog the thinking ‘screen’ of the public.

IYARE ESOHE EWAENOSA could be reached via iyareesohewaenosa@gmail.com