If the world were overpopulated, what would be the Catholic response?

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There is no evidence the world will be overpopulated. Sources say the global population will level out at around 9.2 billion in 2050 and start to decline. In 1990 it was said the world could feed 35 billion
But that’s because people are practicing birth control.

From a Catholic perspective, wouldn’t it be a good thing for all or most people in the world to be Catholic and practice Catholic teaching? And isn’t it obvious that in that case the world would become overpopulated fairly quickly?

Edwin
 
And we all ready have them! :eek::ouch::hug3:
The Reverend Malthus came up with his theory because of the population boom of the 18th century. That was largely owing to the end of the Little Ice age, which lengthened the growing season and the introduction of new food sources, such as the potato, but also to the continuing practice of enclosure by landlords. New methods of agriculture and new crops lessened the need for workers on farms. BUT this also produced large numbers of people. In the North American colonies, between 1715 and the Revolution, the colonies enjoyed the biggest population boom known to history. Partly this was owning to the numbers of black slaves and white servants coming into the colonies but most of it was due to natural increase as both whites and blacks acclimated themselves to the savage weather of north America. So the colonies grew faster than Bangladesh has in modern times as the birth rate rose sand the death rate dropped owing to better nutrition and a much improved living environment.

Anyway, Malthus reflected upon the huge increase in France which had seemed to have been a cause of the Revolution and the growth in Britain, which instllled in the upper classes the fear that it could happen in Britain. Hence we get a totally culture-bound theory plus the conviction that population growth could be scientifically managed. The Industrial Revolution was itself responsible since it caused overcrowding, which made overpopulation seem that much more plausible. I would take more than a century for the abundance it produced to improve the lot of the ordinary person. Charlie Chaplin, the comedian, recalls in his biography that growing up in London, he seldom get a full meal. So what I am saying is that “overpopulation” is a matter of perception and a matter of the distribution of wealth.
 
How about we did what our forefathers did and venture West? In our case venture Out into Space and find a place to colonize Mars seems like a good first place to start.

I know I know I’m crazy like Newt Gingrich, yeah well so was Christopher Columbus and most of us wouldn’t be here if it weren’t for him. 👍
 
So what I am saying is that “overpopulation” is a matter of perception and a matter of the distribution of wealth.
“Overpopulation” is solely linked to resources in the environment. Population at current levels is only possible by the discovery of readily available, cheap energy resources. As resources get depleted, the population will decrease accordingly. There are plenty of examples around the world where the population has reached a steady state due to the limited amount of resources in an area.

As far as the OP is concerned, the Church will never approve of anything other than abstinence or NFP for population control.
 
". Population at current levels is only possible by the discovery of readily available, cheap energy resources. .
Please provide evidence for this specific sentence. It appears that the days of cheap, readily available energy sources are over. There is lots of oil in the world, not much cheap oil is left. But yet the current population level does not appear to be a problem.
 
Please provide evidence for this specific sentence. It appears that the days of cheap, readily available energy sources are over. There is lots of oil in the world, not much cheap oil is left. But yet the current population level does not appear to be a problem.
Indeed. The cheap finds have been exploited, but the more expensive means of recovery are finding more than ever. But, of course, there can never be an unlimited supply. A proper distribution may lead to further conflict.
 
While I personally don’t buy the notion that the Earth has surpassed its carrying capacity (far from it), I think there are a fair number of people who mean well in believing this, but are tackling the problem with immoral means (ie contraception and abortion).

Let’s for the sake of argument say that the world is indeed overpopulated, or will be in the near future. What would be a moral and legitimate way to handle the problem?
Redistribute land and regulate how the land is used (i.e. plant food, not cash crops or build a new sub-division). Then start building orbital habitats (possible with today’s tech level) and start mining asteriods for resources (should be possible with near future tech level).
 
But that’s because people are practicing birth control.

From a Catholic perspective, wouldn’t it be a good thing for all or most people in the world to be Catholic and practice Catholic teaching? And isn’t it obvious that in that case the world would become overpopulated fairly quickly?

Edwin
If everyone was Catholic and actually practiced the teachings of the Church, than the increase in population you expect would be countered with a fairer distribution of resources and an increase in the use of said resources to support the population.
 
Please provide evidence for this specific sentence. It appears that the days of cheap, readily available energy sources are over. There is lots of oil in the world, not much cheap oil is left. But yet the current population level does not appear to be a problem.
“Cheap” is a relative term. It cost less to obtain oil in the past relative to today, but the energy returned on energy invested is still positive. Once that goes negative, there is no reason attempt to obtain the remaining resources. Would you use 1.0 gallon of oil to obtain 1.1 gallons of oil? Even though it’s not cheap, yes. Would you spend 2.0 gallons of oil to obtain 1.0 gallons of oil? Of course not, that a rapid waste of oil that provides no benefit.
 
The world cannot be and will never be overpopulated.

Because of the culture of death here in New Zealand, the population is decreasing. We need more Pro Life in New Zealand, otherwise the economy will totally collapse.
Yip, all the abortions and contraception you could possibly want, paid for by us, the tax payer.

And in a few months, Jerry and Steve will be able to marry and adopt all those unwanted babies us mean ole Pro-Lifers don’t care about once they’re no longer foetuses.

[do I need to mention I was being sarcastic?] Heh

As for the OP, yeah, no way earth can be overpopulated, however, if it were to become so, I would imagine the Church would foster more sharing and a more humane way of caring for each other.

Perhaps they’d put mroe effort into campaigns for the clergy and sisters? Seeing as they live a life of celibacy.
 
If everyone was Catholic and actually practiced the teachings of the Church, than the increase in population you expect would be countered with a fairer distribution of resources and an increase in the use of said resources to support the population.
  1. For this to be a meaningful prospect even in the short term, Catholics would have to do a much better job than they or anyone else have ever done before in this regard.
  2. In the long term–and if everyone were having 3-5 kids (which isn’t even that huge a family, but I’m giving a conservative estimate) and there was little infant mortality, it wouldn’t be that long a term–it wouldn’t matter. It’s a finite planet. At some point there’s going to be overpopulation, period. I don’t understand why this basic mathematical point escapes people.
Edwin
 
  1. For this to be a meaningful prospect even in the short term, Catholics would have to do a much better job than they or anyone else have ever done before in this regard.
  2. In the long term–and if everyone were having 3-5 kids (which isn’t even that huge a family, but I’m giving a conservative estimate) and there was little infant mortality, it wouldn’t be that long a term–it wouldn’t matter. It’s a finite planet. At some point there’s going to be overpopulation, period. I don’t understand why this basic mathematical point escapes people.
Edwin
Not to mention that, but I think the OP’s scenario is supposing that there is overpopulation in the sense that there is no division of resources possible where most people come out with a just minimum of resources.
 
  1. For this to be a meaningful prospect even in the short term, Catholics would have to do a much better job than they or anyone else have ever done before in this regard.
  2. In the long term–and if everyone were having 3-5 kids (which isn’t even that huge a family, but I’m giving a conservative estimate) and there was little infant mortality, it wouldn’t be that long a term–it wouldn’t matter. It’s a finite planet. At some point there’s going to be overpopulation, period. I don’t understand why this basic mathematical point escapes people.
Edwin
One only has to look to the past to see the future, or simply look at areas in the present that have very limited resources. As the finite resources are depleted, there will obviously be less resource use per person. Infant mortality will likely rise, and couples will likely start to have more children to compensate for this. It’s interesting you mention 3-5 kids, because that exactly the range of the number of children that practice NFP have (in my own experience). That would be enough for replacement rate in a high infant mortality situation.
 
While I personally don’t buy the notion that the Earth has surpassed its carrying capacity (far from it), I think there are a fair number of people who mean well in believing this, but are tackling the problem with immoral means (ie contraception and abortion).

Let’s for the sake of argument say that the world is indeed overpopulated, or will be in the near future. What would be a moral and legitimate way to handle the problem?
For the government and state parks to give the land back to the people.
 
Most of Europe is experiencing the other problem - they are below their replacement level demographically, and will need more than one generation to get back to where they were, if they even have the desire to do so.

Overpopulation and resource depletion is less of a problem than poor distribution and logistics systems, waste, corruption, legal restrictions that prevent fuel and agricultural development on behalf of politically powerful anti-growth organizations, misuse of arable land, repressive governments that use starvation as a control measure, and historically untenable economic systems. Charity and stewardship requires us to do what we can to reverse those problems.
 
Most of Europe is experiencing the other problem - they are below their replacement level demographically, and will need more than one generation to get back to where they were, if they even have the desire to do so.

Overpopulation and resource depletion is less of a problem than poor distribution and logistics systems, waste, corruption, legal restrictions that prevent fuel and agricultural development on behalf of politically powerful anti-growth organizations, misuse of arable land, repressive governments that use starvation as a control measure, and historically untenable economic systems. Charity and stewardship requires us to do what we can to reverse those problems.
Yeah, Russia is on track to cut its population by 30% in 50 years assuming immigration doesn’t spike into the country. Russia and some countries in Europe have actually started paying women a salary to have children. I think they would prefer to have the over population worries.

In response to the original question the Church needs no new response. The current teaching that spouses are to prayerfully look at their situation and avoid when they have just cause takes care of the possibility. If overpopulation occurs and there is not enough food to feed everyone, parents following this teaching are not going to be trying to bring new lives into existence that they cannot feed… If everyone alive followed the Church’s teaching on this issue, population would not be a concern, because it would take care of itself by virtue of the teaching.
 
The world is not overpopulated. This is just another ploy by the UN to control us. The entire population, all 6+ billion people could fit in the state of Texas. The United States alone has the resources and technology to feed the entire population of the planet.
 
  1. In the long term–and if everyone were having 3-5 kids (which isn’t even that huge a family, but I’m giving a conservative estimate) and there was little infant mortality, it wouldn’t be that long a term–it wouldn’t matter. It’s a finite planet. At some point there’s going to be overpopulation, period. I don’t understand why this basic mathematical point escapes people.
Edwin
I do not believe this too be true. People are here, conception occurrs, babies are born because God wills it. We are not procreating all on our own here. God is present each and every time. Since He is all-perfect, He cannot make a mistake. Overpopulation would be considered an error. Erring is not possible for God.
 
Consider this truth: If we could magically transport every living human being to just one location in this world, giving them each 6 sqft to stand on, how much space would we need for that location? Remember there are 7.1 billion people and the sqft we need is 42.7 billion sqft. (source, National Geographic, January 2012)
Answer: We would need (ready for this?) just the state of Rhode Island (our smallest state, are you kidding me?) Naw, I’m not kidding but some would be in the lakes, rivers and streams with about 100 million straddling the state lines of Connecticut and Massachusetts.
Now, back up into space and take a God’s eye view of the earth. Empty, isn’t it? Even if we gave each person the square footage of the average American home (1,300 sqft), we would not use more than Texas, the southern 1/3 of Oklahoma and the eastern 1/4 of New Mexico. Look again at all the arable land, the vast oceans, lakes rivers and streams which teem with food and the acreage on which to plant food stuffs. We have a problem with everyone wanting to live on coastlines, rivers, streams and lakes, a problem of saturation population coupled with a problem of distribution and despotic national leaders who cheat their peoples of food and future, of those who believe they alone have the answers for how peoples are to live, who seek power, wealth and position instead of what is the best for their people. Witness the late Kim Il Jung of North Korea. His people are starving and he, who would NOT allow a McDonald’s in his nation, had McDonald’s flown in from Communist China for HIS eating pleasure. The leaders ride in limos while the people struggle with bicycles and walking.
Next question: Ask me how much I like politicians. NOT!
 
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