Globalization: Prosperous or potent?

            Many years ago, Thomas Malthus predicted that the human population would outsource food production leading to societal ruin dismissing the idea of unlimited growth. While he may have incorrectly predicted the future (so far..), he does make valid points about the relationship between population growth and resource availability. He also is not the only person to get long-term forecasts wrong: the peak oil date has come and gone several times as the amount of known oil reserves have increased. Also, Malthus had yet to see the tractor trailer, sewing machines, designer babies, or penicillin! As the world population nears 8 billion, population growth has fallen in line with increased quality of life and per capita GDP. Population also has a direct effect on the labor force in that a larger population means more worker to produce goods and services, as well as more people to consume those goods and services. Human ingenuity caused by globalization; if being defined by the increased communication, movement, economic, and political flow across borders, has offset the predicted effects of a larger population.

           

            Birth control has been able to offset a population explosion. In developing countries fertility rates are often very high due to the lack of access to birth control availability. Increasing awareness and access to birth control can also stall population growth. Having a child also bears an opportunity cost. In developing countries, women often have children at younger ages. If incentive for education rises, women will choose to go to school rather than start a family at a younger age therefore having fewer children in the future which decreases the fertility rate. Family planning is the education of the number of spacing of children through the use of birth control. It has been found that there is a correlation between higher levels of education and affluence among females and lower birth rates. Without the globalization of medicine and technology in these developing countries, the world population would be outsourcing our resources.

            Population has also been offset by access to education. Education has increased confidence in those who live in poverty and encourages environmental practices in developing countries. Educated women who are working will delay having children. Incomes are also ten times lower in developing nations than in developed countries. This results in a low growth rate per capita GDP. If these countries want to reach the standard of living that there is in developed countries, population growth must be limited. Education can also increase a country’s affluence. Education can raise awareness of sustainability and improve standards of living. Access to education can eradicate poverty, generate creative minds, reduce child mortality, and promote sustainability. An educated person can start a small business such as farming and selling produce in local markets allowing their family to rise from poverty and improve a country’s GDP. The globalization of education has had a snowball effect in increasing a country’s GDP and population stabilization.

            Technology and unexpected crop yields have allowed us to feed our growing population thanks to globalization. Going back to Malthus, he thought that if the food supply grows linearly, and population grows exponentially, the population will surpass the food supply. In the past 100,000 years, farmers have been able to increase the world’s agriculture output with improved technology and more efficient use of resources. In the twentieth century, farming became more mechanized with fertilizer and the tractor trailer allowing us to increase crop yields. This supports the claim that globalization is not necessarily new. Industrial agriculture uses mechanization and standardization to produce food to sustain our population. Globalization has allowed technology and ideas like irrigation, fertilization, mono-cropping, and pesticides to allow our food supply to grow in sync with our population.

            However, despite Malthus’ incorrect prediction of worldwide poverty and disease, he did provide some warning into the future of our environment due to globalization. Each time it seemed the food or oil supply was too small to limit human population, major advances increased both. But can we assume that we will continue to find ways to feed the human population? How will we know when we reach Earth’s carrying capacity? The disparity in population growth between developing and developed nations differentiates in their usage and allocation of resources. While many people may scoff at the idea of climate change, it is, and will continue to have significant environmental and geopolitical impacts on the world. We will, if we have not already, surpass Earth’s resource capacity, a trend accelerating in this era of globalization; the most potent, and prosperous of human progress. So will we peril or prosper with it?