Adapting to Population Growth: The Evolutionary Alternative to Malthus
A long-standing debate on the dynamics of population growth in human history has become polarized between a Malthusian stance and a Boserupian one. The former tends to view population growth as limited by carrying capacity, dependent on environment and technology, whereas the latter sees population...
Published in: | Cliodynamics: The Journal of Quantitative History and Cultural Evolution |
---|---|
Main Authors: | , |
Format: | Article in Journal/Newspaper |
Language: | English |
Published: |
eScholarship Publishing, University of California
2016
|
Subjects: | |
Online Access: | https://doi.org/10.21237/C7clio7130171 https://doaj.org/article/4bd50942ea3f4b36b88f03607b534ef3 |
id |
ftdoajarticles:oai:doaj.org/article:4bd50942ea3f4b36b88f03607b534ef3 |
---|---|
record_format |
openpolar |
spelling |
ftdoajarticles:oai:doaj.org/article:4bd50942ea3f4b36b88f03607b534ef3 2023-05-15T16:48:44+02:00 Adapting to Population Growth: The Evolutionary Alternative to Malthus Axel Kristinsson Árni Daníel Júlíusson 2016-06-01T00:00:00Z https://doi.org/10.21237/C7clio7130171 https://doaj.org/article/4bd50942ea3f4b36b88f03607b534ef3 EN eng eScholarship Publishing, University of California http://escholarship.org/uc/item/8xp4b5g3 https://doaj.org/toc/2373-7530 doi:10.21237/C7clio7130171 2373-7530 https://doaj.org/article/4bd50942ea3f4b36b88f03607b534ef3 Cliodynamics, Vol 7, Iss 1, Pp 37-75 (2016) Cultural evolution History Population growth Malthus Boserup Farming Göbekli Tepe Tiwanaku Iceland Rapa Nui History (General) D1-2009 Economic history and conditions HC10-1085 article 2016 ftdoajarticles https://doi.org/10.21237/C7clio7130171 2022-12-30T22:00:45Z A long-standing debate on the dynamics of population growth in human history has become polarized between a Malthusian stance and a Boserupian one. The former tends to view population growth as limited by carrying capacity, dependent on environment and technology, whereas the latter sees population growth itself as a major inducement to social, economic and technological developments. In this paper the authors experiment with approaching this debate by using recent developments in evolutionary theory. According to these, evolutionary principles, as expounded by Charles Darwin and subsequent evolutionary scientists, apply not only to biological evolution but also to social or cultural evolution. Here, the role of genes is taken over by culture and, since culture is much more pliable than our DNA, evolution speeds up. As the only organisms on Earth whose evolution relies as heavily on culture as on genes, humans have become extremely adaptable. Their hyper-adaptability suggest that humans, through their cultural evolution, have managed increasingly to adapt to their own growing population, thus succeeding in accommodating ever-growing numbers. This hypothesis fits the Boserupian approach to population very well but less so the Malthusian one, perhaps indicating a gradual shift from a Malthusian regime to a Boserupian one in human history. The hypothesis is discussed and examined through four case studies: The beginning of farming around Göbekli Tepe in southeast Turkey, the productive farming systems of Tiwanaku in South America, the population crisis of late medieval and early modern Iceland, and the ‘collapse’ of Rapa Nui (Easter Island). Article in Journal/Newspaper Iceland Directory of Open Access Journals: DOAJ Articles Rapa ENVELOPE(15.539,15.539,69.033,69.033) Rapa Nui ENVELOPE(-60.800,-60.800,-62.450,-62.450) Cliodynamics: The Journal of Quantitative History and Cultural Evolution 7 1 |
institution |
Open Polar |
collection |
Directory of Open Access Journals: DOAJ Articles |
op_collection_id |
ftdoajarticles |
language |
English |
topic |
Cultural evolution History Population growth Malthus Boserup Farming Göbekli Tepe Tiwanaku Iceland Rapa Nui History (General) D1-2009 Economic history and conditions HC10-1085 |
spellingShingle |
Cultural evolution History Population growth Malthus Boserup Farming Göbekli Tepe Tiwanaku Iceland Rapa Nui History (General) D1-2009 Economic history and conditions HC10-1085 Axel Kristinsson Árni Daníel Júlíusson Adapting to Population Growth: The Evolutionary Alternative to Malthus |
topic_facet |
Cultural evolution History Population growth Malthus Boserup Farming Göbekli Tepe Tiwanaku Iceland Rapa Nui History (General) D1-2009 Economic history and conditions HC10-1085 |
description |
A long-standing debate on the dynamics of population growth in human history has become polarized between a Malthusian stance and a Boserupian one. The former tends to view population growth as limited by carrying capacity, dependent on environment and technology, whereas the latter sees population growth itself as a major inducement to social, economic and technological developments. In this paper the authors experiment with approaching this debate by using recent developments in evolutionary theory. According to these, evolutionary principles, as expounded by Charles Darwin and subsequent evolutionary scientists, apply not only to biological evolution but also to social or cultural evolution. Here, the role of genes is taken over by culture and, since culture is much more pliable than our DNA, evolution speeds up. As the only organisms on Earth whose evolution relies as heavily on culture as on genes, humans have become extremely adaptable. Their hyper-adaptability suggest that humans, through their cultural evolution, have managed increasingly to adapt to their own growing population, thus succeeding in accommodating ever-growing numbers. This hypothesis fits the Boserupian approach to population very well but less so the Malthusian one, perhaps indicating a gradual shift from a Malthusian regime to a Boserupian one in human history. The hypothesis is discussed and examined through four case studies: The beginning of farming around Göbekli Tepe in southeast Turkey, the productive farming systems of Tiwanaku in South America, the population crisis of late medieval and early modern Iceland, and the ‘collapse’ of Rapa Nui (Easter Island). |
format |
Article in Journal/Newspaper |
author |
Axel Kristinsson Árni Daníel Júlíusson |
author_facet |
Axel Kristinsson Árni Daníel Júlíusson |
author_sort |
Axel Kristinsson |
title |
Adapting to Population Growth: The Evolutionary Alternative to Malthus |
title_short |
Adapting to Population Growth: The Evolutionary Alternative to Malthus |
title_full |
Adapting to Population Growth: The Evolutionary Alternative to Malthus |
title_fullStr |
Adapting to Population Growth: The Evolutionary Alternative to Malthus |
title_full_unstemmed |
Adapting to Population Growth: The Evolutionary Alternative to Malthus |
title_sort |
adapting to population growth: the evolutionary alternative to malthus |
publisher |
eScholarship Publishing, University of California |
publishDate |
2016 |
url |
https://doi.org/10.21237/C7clio7130171 https://doaj.org/article/4bd50942ea3f4b36b88f03607b534ef3 |
long_lat |
ENVELOPE(15.539,15.539,69.033,69.033) ENVELOPE(-60.800,-60.800,-62.450,-62.450) |
geographic |
Rapa Rapa Nui |
geographic_facet |
Rapa Rapa Nui |
genre |
Iceland |
genre_facet |
Iceland |
op_source |
Cliodynamics, Vol 7, Iss 1, Pp 37-75 (2016) |
op_relation |
http://escholarship.org/uc/item/8xp4b5g3 https://doaj.org/toc/2373-7530 doi:10.21237/C7clio7130171 2373-7530 https://doaj.org/article/4bd50942ea3f4b36b88f03607b534ef3 |
op_doi |
https://doi.org/10.21237/C7clio7130171 |
container_title |
Cliodynamics: The Journal of Quantitative History and Cultural Evolution |
container_volume |
7 |
container_issue |
1 |
_version_ |
1766038807456514048 |