Elon Musk on the "Problem" of Population
This Day in History: Economist Thomas Malthus was born on this day in 1766. He is famous for his book An Essay on the Principle of Population where he argued that human population growth would outpace food production, which would lead to societal ruin. However, Malthus was wrong. He failed to anticipate the Industrial Revolution that came after his book and people were able to produce more despite rising populations.
Elon Muck recently weighed in on overpopulation. Pointing to the website https://waitbutwhy.com/2015/03/7-3-billion-people-one-building.html Elon concluded "Humanity takes up very little of Earth’s surface area – you can fit the entire population of Earth in New York City on one floor."
Elon also said "Population collapse is an existential problem for humanity, not overpopulation!"
The late Walter Williams concluded on population: "The greatest threat to mankind’s prosperity is government, not population growth. For example, Zimbabwe was agriculturally rich but, with government interference, was reduced to the brink of mass starvation. Any country faced with massive government interference can be brought to starvation. Blaming poverty on overpopulation not only lets governments off the hook but also encourages the enactment of harmful, inhumane policies."
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