Taken from the all-knowing wikipedia, âEconomics is the social science that studies the allocation of scarce resources to satisfy unlimited wants.â â Operative words here being scarce resources. So what happens when we run out?
According to Malthusian theory (note, not fact), the human population is growing at such a rate that in the near future, the planet will no longer be able to support the huge numbers.
Now surely this is common sense? The earth is limited by land, and if we were to simplify the requirements for human existence to its basic forms, we require food and water. So clearly, there is only so much room for growing crops, raising animals, etc.
So is there going to come a time where poverty is going to widely strike all OECD countries? How will economics allocate resources that are far too scare to support the population? Can there be a price on food such that one wealthy consumer eats, and in doing so âdisqualifiesâ all others from eating?
But before we see signs of scarce resources on the food front, we will definitely see scarce resources in terms of fuel. The world runs on fuel â without it, the world would literally come to a grinding halt â with no transport, no one will go to work; no one will earn a living; farmers would not be able to produce and deliver on such wide scales; and then what, no one will eat? The two big super powers of the earth, the US and China may go to war to secure strategic oil reserves, and even so, these are temporary measures.
Can we expect science to save us? The pollution and permanent damage that we are causing the globe by burning fossil fuels will most likely be replaced by dangerous radioactive waste that we canât dispose of or recycle.
What of radical government policy? Perhaps we should take a leaf out of Chinaâs book and attempt to bring about global negative population growth so as to buy us some time. Or maybe we should look toward science fiction and try to find a second planet and start over.
Even if we do not see the catastrophic side effects of our enormous consumption in our lifetimes, itâs frightening to know that our children, or perhaps our grandchildren will have to deal with our mistakes and find a solution to ensure the survival of mankind.
Any other opinions, comments and thoughts are welcome!
Andrew Path
According to Malthusian theory (note, not fact), the human population is growing at such a rate that in the near future, the planet will no longer be able to support the huge numbers.
Now surely this is common sense? The earth is limited by land, and if we were to simplify the requirements for human existence to its basic forms, we require food and water. So clearly, there is only so much room for growing crops, raising animals, etc.
So is there going to come a time where poverty is going to widely strike all OECD countries? How will economics allocate resources that are far too scare to support the population? Can there be a price on food such that one wealthy consumer eats, and in doing so âdisqualifiesâ all others from eating?
But before we see signs of scarce resources on the food front, we will definitely see scarce resources in terms of fuel. The world runs on fuel â without it, the world would literally come to a grinding halt â with no transport, no one will go to work; no one will earn a living; farmers would not be able to produce and deliver on such wide scales; and then what, no one will eat? The two big super powers of the earth, the US and China may go to war to secure strategic oil reserves, and even so, these are temporary measures.
Can we expect science to save us? The pollution and permanent damage that we are causing the globe by burning fossil fuels will most likely be replaced by dangerous radioactive waste that we canât dispose of or recycle.
What of radical government policy? Perhaps we should take a leaf out of Chinaâs book and attempt to bring about global negative population growth so as to buy us some time. Or maybe we should look toward science fiction and try to find a second planet and start over.
Even if we do not see the catastrophic side effects of our enormous consumption in our lifetimes, itâs frightening to know that our children, or perhaps our grandchildren will have to deal with our mistakes and find a solution to ensure the survival of mankind.
Any other opinions, comments and thoughts are welcome!
Andrew Path
