Page 238 - DSOC402_SOCIOLOGY_OF_KINSHIP_ENGLISH

Sociology of Kinship

Notes

The population of a country, plays a major role for future development and
prosperity of the country. Less population or over population, both effects
production, residents, non-residents, economic growth, conceptuation, political
and social policy changes of the society, etc.

30.2 Theories of Population
From ancient, socio-scientist and economist had shown interest in solving the problem of popu-
lation. What should be the ideal population of a country? What should be the growth rate of
population? How to control the population growth? These are the questions on which many
principles are propounded. Now, we will discuss; in short, the principles of demography.

Population Theory of Malthus
In 1798, Malthus had propounded a theory of population from his book “An essay on princi-
ples of population”. Malthus was a priest; He deeply studied the population growth of various
European countries. Malthusian theory in based on the three assumptions:—
1. Population Growth Rate: According to Malthus, the population grow on the geometrical
pattern, i.e., 1, 2, 4, 8, 16, 32, 64. A country’s population gets double in 25 years, if not inter-
rupted.
2. Production Rate of Food Material: Malthus says, in comparisons to population growth,
the food material grow slow. It says, eatables grow in mathematical proportion, i.e., 1, 2,
3, 4, 5, 6, 7, etc. In a time period when the countries population multiply16 times, its food
material will grow five times only. Fast growing population gives birth to many evils like
voracity, unemployment, struggle, delinquency, war and rivalry.
3. Population Control—According to Malthus, there are two methods of population control:
(a) Positive Check
(b) Preventive Check
(a) Positive Check—Death rate increases because the nature itself keep Positive check.
Whenever population grows bigger than the food. The Nature prevent it by flood,
earthquake, plague, faming, heavy rainfall, epidemic voracity, natural calamities and
war, So that, the extra population dies and only the required number of population
remains.
(b) Preventive Check—Preventive checks are those, which are used by the society itself
to check the population. It consist artificial measures. We will also discuss the causes
population growth and National Population Policy.

Self Assessment

Fill in the blanks:
1. Positive check is imposed by ____________________ .
2. When population grow greater than ____________________ in any country, then nature
bring it down by flood, earthquake, heavy rainfall, war, etc.
3. ____________________ are those preventives, which society imposition itself.

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