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World Populations And Development Essay Research Paper

World Populations And Development Essay, Research Paper


World Populations and Development


1.)The Neolithic and Industrial Revolutions


The two changes in the use of the earth’s resources that had the greatest effect


on the world population were the neolithic and the industrial revolutions.


The neolithic revolution (a.k.a. agricultural revolution) was a change in the


way of life of our ancestors. It took place about 8000 years ago among various


tribes in Asia and the Middle East. It included a transition from foraging and


hunting to the domestication of animals (most probably starting with the dog)


and to farming. Tribes settled in fertile areas and formed agricultural


communities many of which grew into villages and cities. This relatively stable


way of life and the more reliable food supply (and surplus) led to the


development of new professions, to labor specialization and ultimately to the


stratification of these societies. Improved conditions of life led to somewhat


longer life spans. Nevertheless population growth remained low due to high


infant mortality rates. The impact of the neolithic revolution was not as much


on immediate population growth (even though it did have a long term impact on


population growth) as on the material and spiritual development of the human


race. It is widely regarded as the beginning of civilization. Industrial


revolution was another process of change. It was the process of substituting


muscle power with machine power. It took place in the 18th century in Europe


and is still happening in many parts of the world. In many characteristics it


has been similar to the neolithic revolution: it increased production, it led to


the use of resources that had been mostly unused until then and it improved the


overall quality of life. It also led to changes in the structure of society.


What was different, was its impact on population growth. It was quick and easily


noticeable. Advanced sanitation, hygiene and medicine led to longer life spans


and declining death rates, with the birth rates remaining high. This resulted


in a high rate of population growth that still continues in many countries. The


information revolution is the process of change that began in the second half of


the 20th century in the developed countries of the world. It is the process of


substituting “brain power” with “machine power”. It leads to increased


production and has the potential to create a more even distribution of the


world’s population on the surface of the earth. It also has the potential to


decrease the differences between the less developed and the highly developed


nations of the world. Then again it also has the potential to increase those


differences. It causes changes in the structure of society. Many of its impacts


are still to be experienced.


2.)Thomas Malthus


Thomas Robert Malthus, an English economic thinker published a theory in 1798


concerning the relationship between population growth and food supply. He said


that population always increases exponentially, while food supplies increase


only arithmetically. He advocated that moral restraints can not be implemented


on the scale of the whole population because most individuals are will seek


their own pleasure ignoring the global impacts of their actions. The growing


population will therefore put a strain on the limited food resources that will


lead to wars, famine and disease, decreasing the population thus restoring the


equilibrium. I think it is obvious that the first part of his theory, while it


does apply to certain countries, proved to be completely wrong on a global


scale. There is no world-wide calorie deficit. The “food supply increase to


population increase” ratio is substantially higher in the developed world than


in the less developed countries. On a global scale, current food supplies do


exceed the needs of the world’s population, but they are not distributed in a


way that benefits the whole population. Fortunately international programs aimed


at achieving a better distribution of food resources do make an impact in


decreasing the calorie deficit, and it is quite likely that the inhabitants and


the leaders of the developed nations will eventually come to the conclusion


that it is better to “share some” than to risk loosing all. So, even where moral


restraints don’t work, common sense just might have a chance.


3.)Population Growth, Demographics


A.) In the early prehistoric times (1 million years ago) there were no more


humans on the whole earth than in a modern American town (such as Provo). For a


long time the growth rate was slow. The difficulties of obtaining food, the


lack of sanitation or advanced medicine, the living conditions in general meant


short life spans (20-25 years in average) and a high death rate. Even the


largest communities (tribes) rarely exceeded 100 people.


B.) The neolithic revolution about 8000 years ago meant that tribes began to


domesticate animals and plant food crops. Tribes settled and developed into


larger communities. The reliable food source and relatively peaceful existence


led to the development of many new professions and inventions. It also led to


the division of society into different classes (peasants, artisans, rulers,


etc.). The continuing process of advances in technology led to faster


population growth and by the time of Christ the world’s population numbered more


than half of the current population of the USA.


C.) The different rates of population growth in various areas of the world, the


different levels of development (nomadic vs. civilized) and the differences in


the availability of

resources led to numerous migrations over the centuries. -


Asian tribes moved to the west and south (5th century BC – 16th century AD); -


Europeans colonized large areas of the Americas, Australia and the Pacific


region, India and Africa; – African slaves were bought and taken to the Americas


and to Arabic and Turkish areas; – Russians “colonized” the eastern reaches of


Eurasia. By the 18th century the world’s population numbered about the same as


the current population of the whole American continent. (Heavy population


decrease occurred during the Black Death in Europe and South-Eastern Asia.)


D.) In the 18th century AD, technological development finally reached a level


where it became possible to substitute muscle power with machines in many areas.


A virtual chain reaction of inventions began. Increased production, advances in


medicine and other areas resulted in increased life expectancy and decreased


death rates with the birth rates remaining high. This led to noticeably faster


population growth.


E.) Finally in this century the developed countries experienced a decline in


birthrates and thus a slowing population growth. Many countries of the world,


mostly the less developed ones have not yet achieved this stage. Most of


today’s highly developed countries were able to exploit the resources of the


less developed nations of Africa and Asia long enough to give time for the


impacts of the higher standards of living, longer life spans and abundant


resources to change the attitude of these nations and result in decreased


population growth. The less developed countries of the world have no other


nations to exploit. Most often the improvements in technology simply lead to


population increase that “eats up” the fruits of the improvements, making


further development and investment nearly impossible.


It is especially important to understand that we all live on the same planet.


Cooperation and assistance to the developing nations are usually cheaper than


another set of missile defenses…


4.)Migrations


Europeans traveled to America, Africa, India, Australia and New Zealand. These


were the migrations that were the most important of this period. They allowed


the ever growing population of Europe to find a new habitat. These migrations


resulted in European dominance of these newly colonized territories and spread


the fast pace of technological development experienced in Europe to all the


continents (although in varying degrees).


The migration of Europeans to the Americas was soon followed by a flow of


African slaves (as many as 20 million) who provided cheap labor. African slaves


were also sold in Arab and Turkish areas.


The eastward migration of Russians is also to be noted. The interaction with and


the “colonization” of territories east and southeast of Russia (Siberia,


Caspian region, Caucasian region, etc.) ultimately led to the formation of a


much larger empire.


5.) Stages of Demographic Transition


“Demographic transition” is a process of population change that can be divided


into four stages.


a.) Before the industrial revolution the majority of the world experienced low


life expectancy, high birth rates and high death rates resulting in slow


population growth;


b.) Western Europe entered the second stage with the onset of the industrial


revolution in the 18th century while other parts of the world entered it later,


when they, too had either made technological advances or the benefits of


industrialization were introduced to them by more developed countries. This


stage is characterized by longer life expectancy, high birth rates and


declining or low death rates, resulting in a high and continuous increase in


population.


c.) With changes occurring in the “value” of children as opposed to their costs


many industrialized countries have entered stage three. It is characterized by


long life expectancy, rapidly declining birth rates and low death rates,


resulting in slow growth rates, similar to the rates in the first stage.


d.) Some industrialized countries have progressed even further and have entered


the fourth stage. It is usually characterized by long life expectancy*, low


birth rates and low death rates, with the birthrates sometimes falling below


the death rates, resulting in minimal population growth or no growth at all and


sometimes even a population decline.


Countries in the second stage of demographic transition experience great


difficulties in technological development because improvements result in larger


population that automatically negates the benefits of those improvements. Many


of these nations make great efforts to educate their people about the benefits


of small families and the negative impact of large families.


6.)Comparing the 5 most populated countries of the world; birth/death rate,


lifespan, income.


- Among the five most populated countries of the world India has the highest


birth rate, while the birth rate in Africa is an average 50% higher than in


India. – Among the five most populated countries of the world India also has the


highest death rate, while the death rate in Africa is an average 20% higher


than in India. – Among the five most populated countries of the world Indonesia


has the lowest life expectancy; life expectancy in Africa is almost the same as


in Indonesia. – Among the five most populated countries of the world China has


the lowest per capita income; more than half of the African nations have a per


capita income lower than in China. The average, however, is about twice as high


due to a few mineral rich countries.

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