Population Growth

In 1800 the world had about 1 billion people. In 2008 we have 6.7 billion. It is argued that population growth since 1800 has contributed to economic progress. But we can, I believe, dismiss this argument. In 1800 there were men of genius working on matters scientific and mechanical and there were a lot of industrious people around. We cannot assume that if the world's population had held steady at 1 billion there would not have been a good amount of scientific, technological and economic progress.

Some people have benefited from population growth. Back in the days when industrialists were using a lot of unskilled labor, a great supply of labor allowed them to pay workers less. This moved the industrialists to lure labor from abroad - an increase in the labor pool, upsetting workers already in the United States, who would have benefited from higher wages.

People hoping to make a lot of money from real estate speculation have also enjoyed population growth. In the areas where they own property, population increases have sent prices of homes upward, and the new generation of local people looking for their first home are forced to pay a higher price for their home.

Industrialists and people speculating in real estate could have adjusted to a stable number of people. A stable world population in 1800 would have kept the demand for cotton at a reduced level, and plantation owners would have had less incentive to buy more slaves.

The increase in population since 1800 has increased competition over land, wiped out the way of life of indigenous peoples and contributed to depersonalization. Does anyone claim that the urban sprawl of today is better than the urban centers that existed in 1800s? Have they been to Mexico City, journeyed across the urban sprawl of Lagos, ridden the morning commute in Tokyo's subway or been been caught in the slow traffic on U.S. freeways?

I remember Orange County in southern California in the early 1940s. It was rural, with a lot of orange orchards and quiet and friendly people. My mother, born in 1907, grew up there. While a young women working as a bookkeeper she could easily have bought a little land by the ocean - land that now only the most wealthy of people can buy.

Has anyone reading this who enjoys walking in uncrowded scenic areas been to Yosemite lately?

Gradual growth can be insidious. People barely notice and adjust to slow development. If someone had just awakened from a sleep that began in 1800 they would be shocked and probably sickened by what they would find.

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