Reference no: EM132349150

Question: Social Problems by John J. Macionis

Population problems can seem

foreign to many Americans. But the world population continues to balloon out of control. And this growth is mostly in poor nations who do not have the means to take care of the increased population. However, it is worth noting that at any given moment, there is enough food in the world to feed everyone. But the system is not set up to deal with large poor populations. Thomas Malthus tried to understand this problem in the 1700s, though he was fundamentally wrong in his understanding of humans ability to cope with such changes technologically. Still, he has followers today who see a population bomb ready to explode.

Another issue is global inequality. For as long as there has been capitalism, there has been global inequality. Whether it is colonies who wealthy countries use to extract resources. Or whether it is modern poor countries being in dept to wealthier countries. There seems to be a cycle of exploitation within the global capitalist system. Slavery continues to be an issue as companies seek out cheap labor for our products. Many such slaves are young women who have no way out.

Answer the below question

1. What do you think of the ways that demographers approach populations?
2. What did you think of the maps of populations?
3. What do you think of Thomas Malthus and his followers?
4. What about other approaches to population?
5. What do you think about the charts and maps on global inequality?
6. How does poverty effect those in the poorest countries of the world?
7. What do the theories of global inequality have to say?