The Role of Food - Its Production and/or Its Price in Determining Human Population Well-being - Essay Example

? The Role of Food -Its Production and/or Its Price in Determining Human Population Well-being Inserts His/Her Inserts Grade Course Customer Inserts Tutor’s Name 8 October 2011 The role of food production and food price is to influence the human population’s well-being. The research focuses on the three authors’ discussion of the population’s well-being. The researchers focus on the three authors’ insistence there is a direct relationship between poverty and population growth. Suburbanization and Urbanization is significantly affected by the population size and poverty levels. Food production and food prices play pivotal roles in the determination of the human population’s economic well-being. Malthus, Smith and Marx’s understanding of the role of food-its production and/or its price in determining human population wellbeing. Karl Marx, the father of Communism, insists factors that include landlordism, uncertainty in the land tenure system, unfavorable and high man –land ratio precipitate to the low food production. Low food production translates to lower population growth. Karl Marx stated that the population growth problem becomes glaring when the food production is not enough to feed the growing population (Patnaik 18). As for Adam Smith, a Scottish lawyer and civil servant, food production (stock of the land) influences the population growth. The skill of the people to increase food production will influence the increase in the food supply. In turn, an increase in the food supply will translated to a corresponding increase in the population. Adam Smith was Thomas Malthus’ mentor. Adam Smith insists all animal species, including human beings, will generally multiply in relation to the food production. All animal species will not multiply more than the food supply; starvation from lack of food supply will trigger death from hunger and wars for the capture or ownership of the dwindling or lacking food supply (Smith 301). Further, Thomas Robert Malthus (Bonar 231), an English Scholar, theorized that the increase in population is influenced by the availability of food sources. The lack of food will decrease population in crease. On the other hand, the abundance in food sources will precipitate to a faster population growth. In terms of analysis, this very true; a person who is hungry from lack of food sources will lack the energy or drive to increase one’s offspring. In addition, the lack of food sources will trigger wars for the capture or ownership of scarce food production. The food wars will trigger death among the fighting population. In turn, population is drastically reduced by deaths on both sides of the warring parties. Each author’s account for the existence of poverty Karl Marx proposed poverty is triggered by the ills of capitalism. Under capitalism, the capitalists pay the labor a meager amount to produce food, services, and other outputs. The capitalist generate a huge amount of profits from the workers’ hard work. The workers will continue to be submerged by the poverty quagmire imposed by the Capitalists. The Capitalists hire machines to replace the workers. In turn, unemployment increases. As unemployment increases, the workers’ pay decreases since there are more supply of labor compared to the available jobs. Consequently, the workers continue to sink into the lake of poverty. In addition, Adam Smith emphasized that labor affects poverty. A person without a job is poor. All people try to avoid poverty by working hard to increase their wealth. The people do their best to avoid poverty because the poor are generally hungry, cold, sick, ignored by society, excluded, and shameful. People avoid being classified as poor because everyone wants attention, which the moneyed class has plenty of. Further, Thomas Malthus emphasized that all human population always contains a group classified as belonging to the poverty level. Society is normally divided between the poor and the not so poor segment. As population increase, the quantity of food supply will continue to decrease in relation to the population. The result precipitates to the increase in persons belonging to the poverty economic classification. How urbanization in 19th century Europe challenged or supported these theories The urbanization in 19th century Europe either challenged or supported the three authors’ theories. Urbanization challenges the suburbanization theories of Karl Marx suburbanization. Karl Marx emphasized the suburbs and urban economic life should be on equal economic footing or lifestyle. This is contrary to the urbanization theory where the people prefer to stay in the cities because there are more jobs and economics benefits are offered within the cities’ territorial jurisdiction when compared to availability of more jobs and economics benefits offered outside the cities’ territorial jurisdiction. In addition, 19th century Europe supports the theories of Adam Smith and Thomas Malthus. Both authors believed that the people prefer to live and work in the cities. The two authors were right for it is easier for the people to find jobs in the cities compared finding jobs in the suburbs. Both authors agree the poor, who are working within the city limits, prefer to live in the suburbs to save on daily costs and expenses. The distance travelled from the workers’ home in the suburbs to their work within the cities (urban center) is easily accepted by the travelling worker as a means to reduce or avoid the high cost of living or staying within the city limits. How each author might explain current global trends of "suburbanization" and declining household size Karl Marx dreamed of a society where the city life blended advantageously with suburban life. Normally, people in the city are economically richer than the people in the suburban areas of Society. The poorly built houses of the suburban families should be replaced by city style houses. Karl Marx dreamed of a communist state where everyone living in both the city and suburb areas is based on economic equality. Poverty forced the people from the cities to move towards to suburbs reduce the effects of their poor life. In addition, Adam Smith reiterated that suburbanization (living outside the city limits) and the declining household is grounded on the individual’s strive to avoid poverty. Under the Mercantilism economic theory, the rich focus their efforts to increasing their wealth at the expense of the poor sectors of society. The British soldiers took the rich resources of India and Pakistan to increase the wealth of England. Thus, Adam Smith characterized England as a savage country for taking away the many riches of its two conquered nations, India and Pakistan. Further, Thomas Malthus, the global trends of suburbanization and declining household size are shown as society’s action to prevent the poverty from spreading to more cities, states, and the like. Suburbanization makes the person living outside the city boundaries too busy working. The working triggers a decline in the suburban population. Likewise, smaller household size shows the reduction in the population. Based on the above discussion, food production and food price determines the human population’s well-being. All three authors agree that food production significantly influences the human population’s well-being. The three authors insist there is a direct relationship between poverty and population growth. 19th century Europe either supported or challenged the three authors’ theories on population and poverty. Suburbanization and Urbanization was influenced by the population size and poverty levels. Indeed, food production and food prices play important parts in the determination of the human population’s economic well-being. Works Cited Bonar, J. Malthus and his Works. New York: Kessinger Press, 2004. Patnaik, U. The Agrarian Question in Marx and his followers . New York: Leftword Press, 2007. Smith, A. The Wealth of Nations. New York: Digireads Press, 2009. Read More