The Scarcity Fallacy
World hunger is a topic that has been the focal point of many economists and whether or not we have the means of feeding the entire human population. The general knowledge is that world hunger exists mainly because of natural disasters, increase in population, and not being able to produce enough food. Additional problems such as environment crises and global warming result in furthering the idea of food scarcity. If that is the case, then hunger exists simply because there is not enough food supplied to keep up with the demand stemming from starving people. It is thought by some that if we increase the food supply we will be able to resolve world hunger. However, scarcity is a perspective that influences both popular perceptions and public policy. World hunger is much more complex than a basic algebra …show more content…
Scanlan) Through research sociologist have discovered that social inequalities, distribution systems, and other economic and political factors create walls to the access of food. Hunger is part of the concept of “food security,” which is best described as the inability to receive the food needed to sustain healthy human life. The inclination that hunger is caused by scarcity roots back to a book that Thomas Malthus wrote in 1798, An Essay on the Principle of Population. Malthus predicted that the world would experience hardships and death caused by the inability to feed its inhabitants. This stemmed from the failure of controlling exponential population growth. It turns out that Malthus was wrong and instead food production outgrew exponential population growth. Although Malthus’ prediction was wrong, his arguments have been passed down over generations. His thoughts have gone to the mainstream when it comes to the thought of
World hunger is a topic that has been the focal point of many economists and whether or not we have the means of feeding the entire human population. The general knowledge is that world hunger exists mainly because of natural disasters, increase in population, and not being able to produce enough food. Additional problems such as environment crises and global warming result in furthering the idea of food scarcity. If that is the case, then hunger exists simply because there is not enough food supplied to keep up with the demand stemming from starving people. It is thought by some that if we increase the food supply we will be able to resolve world hunger. However, scarcity is a perspective that influences both popular perceptions and public policy. World hunger is much more complex than a basic algebra …show more content…
Scanlan) Through research sociologist have discovered that social inequalities, distribution systems, and other economic and political factors create walls to the access of food. Hunger is part of the concept of “food security,” which is best described as the inability to receive the food needed to sustain healthy human life. The inclination that hunger is caused by scarcity roots back to a book that Thomas Malthus wrote in 1798, An Essay on the Principle of Population. Malthus predicted that the world would experience hardships and death caused by the inability to feed its inhabitants. This stemmed from the failure of controlling exponential population growth. It turns out that Malthus was wrong and instead food production outgrew exponential population growth. Although Malthus’ prediction was wrong, his arguments have been passed down over generations. His thoughts have gone to the mainstream when it comes to the thought of