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The Problem Of Expanding Population Essay

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The topic of expanding population is one both of wonder and catastrophe, as civilizations have risen and fallen throughout time. Collapse (Diamond) touches on this concept of population growth (or change) often, especially because a civilization is, after all, nothing without its population. Using Collapse, we can quickly start to analyze what a growing population entails. Early on, Diamond touches upon the implications of an expanding population. When a civilization starts to have a high rate of growth, they must start to use more aggressive and intensive agricultural practices in order to grow enough food to sustain the population, which can cause overuse and eventual abandonment of the land. As Diamond wrote, “Consequences [of a fast rising population] for society included food shortages, starvation, wars among too many people fighting for too few resources, and overthrows of governing elites by disillusioned masses. Eventually, population decreased through starvation, war, or disease, and society lost some of the political, economic, and cultural complexity that it had developed at its peak.” (Diamond. pg6). If a culture or society loses too much of the cultural complexity they have, that civilization may fall apart forever. However, there has been a huge change in the world within the last 100 years. A conjunction of technology, globalization, and population growth- which has allowed a global food market to be created. This global food market is more or less an “end”

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