In today’s world, the word “overpopulation” is tossed around repeatedly and is the basis for a global crisis. But what does the word actually mean? Well, overpopulation is “if a country or city has too many people for the amount of food, materials, and space available there.” While certain places may meet these requirements, as of yet there is not the global overpopulation that seems to be feared by so many.
In January of this year, it was estimated by Oxfam that the richest 8 are as wealthy as the poorest 50%. A similar, shocking situation goes for the world’s resources as these are as unequally spread as the wealth. An example of this is currently the famine in South Sudan, where it is estimated to affect around 50% of the country’s population. Immediate famines have also been predicted in Yemen, Somalia and North Eastern Nigeria. However rich countries will not be affected by the food crisis nearly as much. This is because people in developed countries spend only a small amount of their income on food whilst many families in poor countries spend up to 80 % of their income on food, and as the prices of food in LEDC’s are rising, people are becoming unable to access a basic human right: the right to food.
The richest 8 are as wealthy as the poorest 50%.
The problem we are facing today is not so much about overpopulation, but about the unequal distribution of wealth and resources, and has been primarily caused by humans as we ourselves have invented concepts of wealth and economy which put people at advantages through our own fabricated ideology. A common approach to the problem is normally encouraging families in LEDC’s to have fewer children, whether this be through policies such as China’s one-child policy or Kerala’s education policy. Whilst this is one solution, we need to acknowledge that something can be done on the part of developed countries too. The governments of rich countries need to accept that whilst they do have their own problems, global crises like famines should also be prioritized and as a collective, we should be trying to encourage a redistribution of wealth so we can tackle the problem of “overpopulation”.
Whilst there is no doubt that actual global overpopulation may become a reality in the future, the way we work to prevent this cannot be one-sided. We cannot leave vulnerable countries and people to sort out their own populations whilst we are ignorant to our involvement in the situation. I admit this idea of global economic equality is difficult to achieve as it involves the richest giving up part of their wealth, and human beings by nature are greedy. To reach a world of equality we essentially need to rethink and rewire our fundamental ways of thinking which of course not an easy task is. But after all, Rome was not built in a day.
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