Population Growth, Famine, and Why Malthus Was Wrong

CrashCourse

This episode of Crash Course World History explores the theories of Thomas Malthus regarding population growth and food supply. Host John Green breaks down Malthus's famous argument that human population grows geometrically while food production grows only arithmetically, inevitably leading to a "cycle of misery" characterized by famine and disease. The video uses historical examples to test this theory, specifically focusing on the tragic Irish Potato Famine as a case study where Malthusian thinking influenced British policy with devastating results. The video also analyzes why Malthus's dire predictions have not fully come to pass on a global scale. It highlights the Agricultural Revolutions in both China and Europe, explaining how innovations like selective breeding, crop rotation, and new farming technologies dramatically increased the earth's carrying capacity. The narrative examines the social costs of these revolutions, particularly the Enclosure Acts in England which privatized common land and displaced the rural poor, creating the misery Malthus observed. Finally, the lesson connects 19th-century theories to modern concerns about sustainability and climate change. It discusses the "Population Bomb" fears of the 1960s and contrasts them with current data on starvation and agricultural yields. Teachers can use this video to spark discussions on human geography, economic theory, the ethics of resource distribution, and the role of technology in solving environmental challenges.