Compare Malthus’s and Boserup’s theories of the relationship between population growth and food supply

Answer 1

Malthus theorized exponential population growth and arithmetic food supply growth. This essentially means that populations will grow faster than the supply of food and that the exponential population growth will lead to a shortage of food and that eventually we will reach a point where the Earth's resources will NOT be able to support the population.

Boserup contrasts the work of Malthus. She argues that population growth and food supply are independent of one another. She states that population increase occurs when there are changes in agriculture. Essentially in her view, humans have the means and knowledge to overcome the lack of resources by inventing new ways of resource extraction and production. If this proves to be true then the Earth's carrying capacity increases even if there may be points of crisis in that process.