In 11th grade, my American Literature teacher assigned Henry David Thoreau’s Walden early in September. For students unfamiliar with the story, Thoreau built himself a cabin in the woods along Walden Pond to as an experiment in self-reliance. In the literature circle during class, my teacher called on me to share my thoughts about the book. Unfortunately, I gave my honest opinion.
“I think it’s an interesting concept, and it could be a model to follow when you are young. However, I don’t think it’s practical to live in isolation if you have a family. There’s some value in getting away for a time, but I think it’s immature to permanently withdraw from community.”
My teacher asked a few follow up questions, and I was still not buying the idea. Finally, the middle-aged teacher blurted out, “So what you’re saying is people my age should just give up?”
I did not know what to say, and chose to remain silent to avoid making matters worse. The teacher moved on to another student and continued the lesson. After school, several classmates joked, “You’re too soft Clancy, you definitely should have said ‘yes’ to her!”
While I knew that was not the right answer, but I also struggled to figure out where I went wrong. As time went by, I’ve gained a little more respect for Walden, and occasionally have pondered the possibility of building my own retreat from society. I still feel my comments were fair, but I recognize that something must have struck an emotional chord with the teacher.
This episode always pops into my head when teaching about Malthus’s Principle of Human Population. Not that the texts are similar, but I’ve always been afraid of making a similar outburst as my teacher. You see, Malthus strikes a nerve with me as one of nine children.
In college, I was having lunch with a couple co-workers in residence life, and we started talking about our families. When I mentioned that I have eight siblings, the RA sitting across from me instantly said, “I hate you!” I laughed because I thought he was joking, but he was not. His parents were Neo-Malthusians and he was an only child. He said he would have liked to have a sibling, but he understood his parents decision because increasing population is depleting the world’s resources. The girl sitting next to me said, “That’s great that your parents stood up for what they believed in!” I had read Malthus already by this point, but had never met anyone who still believed in his theory. How could someone really believe the civilization would fall apart because of little Billy Clancy?
Don’t get me wrong, I recognize the facts – world hunger is a serious issue. Depleting reserves of non-renewable resources do threaten economic implications. But I don’t believe world population is going to hit a breaking point. Food shortages are a distribution problem, not a production problem. The amount of food wasted in the United States could feed millions of people. Still, agricultural production still continues to grow with new technology and research.
In regards to fossil fuels, we’ve seen big changes in energy since that 2007 conversation. We’ve seen reduced energy demand and new energy discoveries. The following summer, gas prices spiked to $4.15 a gallon. Two years later, a failed attempt to sell the Hummer brand to a Chinese company led GM to stop production of the supersized SUV, symbolic of market trends. As Ford Explorer sales dropped and Ford Fiesta sales rose, we managed to fend off peak oil for a while. Meanwhile Penn State researchers discovered the Marcellus Shale natural gas reserves deep under Central Pennsylvania. Similar discoveries of petroleum and natural gas deeper than previously accessible in North Dakota and the Permian basin of Texas have been game-changers in regards to energy. Similarly, solar panels and wind turbines are gaining popularity and dropping in price, and small scale hydropower is starting to gain traction.
I also recognize Neo-Malthusians worries generally are focused on less developed countries than the United States. Again, I’m not contesting that many cities and countries are overcrowding, but birth rates are generally dropping. As education and jobs become more accessible to women in developing countries, their birthrates will likely decline as well. Overcrowding may also lead to emigration, but Europe survived large scale emigration to the Americas after population densities rose in England, Ireland, Italy, and Germany.
Malthus’s theory may not have panned out as he expected, but his beliefs influenced many other significant texts, such as Garrett Hardin’s Tragedy of the Commons, as well as anti-natalist policies implemented in China. Principles of Human Population is an essential read for all students, especially those studying human geography. While I fundamentally oppose Malthusian and Neo-Malthusian views, I also recognize that some of my students will have a more favorable view of population control.
It’s a delicate balancing act all teacher’s face at one point or another when teaching a topic that they have strong personal feelings about. I’ve seen other times where a teacher crushes a student for having an alternate opinion, and always felt uncomfortable about it, even when I agreed with the teacher’s perspective. When a student starts to argues in favor of regulating family size, I always have to hold back the gut reaction to lash out at the student in defense of little Billy.
Voltaire famously said, “I do not agree with what you say, but will defend to death your right to say it.” Teachers’ have a responsibility to challenge student views, but also must respect the student’s right to form their own opinion. Besides, I hear teachers without such a filter are banished to a life of solitude on Walden Pond.