People are a resource

What is needed to support the whole world’s population is development in “3rd world” countries

I was sorry that, despite its title, M. Keighley (Letters, PE February) uses the I.Mech.E. report, “Population: one planet, too many people?” to become neurotic about ‘overpopulation,’ quoting Malthus with “… population tends to increase at a greater rate that its means of subsistence.”  I confess I have only skimmed the article and read its press report, but I would like to commend the very positive line taken regarding the technical interventions that can be made to allow for population growth.

Can I clarify a few things:

• Underdeveloped countries tend to have high birth rates because children are desperately needed to generate a tolerable income for their families and to support their parents as they age, but this is countered by life expectancy there being desperately low: the result of, and resulting in, the vicious cycle of poverty;
• Developed countries have very low birth-rates, even below replacement level, because their children nearly all survive and there are all manner of social services to support the older population even if they don’t.
• Thus high general population densities form in developed countries with long life expectancy, where the wealthy cities attract immigrants from poorer lands (England - as against Britain as a whole - is about the most densely populated country in the world.)

By contrast to M. Keighley’s, I commend the other letter on this in February’s PE, where Ian Watson takes a very pragmatic approach to world development. What is needed to support the whole world’s population is development in “3rd world” countries, where vast swathes of land have low or no productivity through unfair trade and lack of resources like simple irrigation schemes and other ‘intermediate technology.’  Support for these must become a much higher priority for our developed world, for the peace and welfare of everyone, if we are to minimise Mr. Keighley and Malthus’ fears.

Whatever, remember that “people” are the biggest resource we have. 

Bob Rainbow, Somerset