Un-Common Nature. Neo-malthusian Environmentalism before 1972 UN Stockholm Conference

Jacopo Bonasera ()
Additional contact information
Jacopo Bonasera: Università di Bologna

Annals of the Fondazione Luigi Einaudi. An Interdisciplinary Journal of Economics, History and Political Science, 2022, vol. 56, issue 2, 7-26

Abstract: This contribution offers an historical conceptual analysis of the population question, as it was articulated by Neo-Malthusian intellectuals G. Hardin and P. Ehrlich before 1972 UN Stockholm Conference. Starting from the conceptualization of nature by T.R. Malthus, the essay then assesses the theoretical and historical continuities and discontinuities that qualify the Twentieth century environmental reappraisal of Malthus’ doctrines. In so doing, the essay also proposes a different understanding of the so-called ‘Malthusian moment’ that contributed to shape the birth of global environmentalism. It is argued that the political core of both Malthus’ and environmental Neo-Malthusianism relates to the effort of making nature an un-common ground for the people, one that legitimizes social and political hierarchies. The case made by both Ehrlich and Hardin for “coercive” birth control – in polemic with women’s claim for reproductive rights – is granted particular attention. Their environmental thinking conveys the idea that all people are passengers of “Spaceship Earth”, while they hold different responsibilities to preserve it. Thus, the environmental revival of the Malthusian law of population reshapes the understanding of the “optimum” relation between population and resources, contributing to the formation of the scientific environment that influenced 1972 UN Conference.

Keywords: Ehrlich; Hardin; Neo-Malthusianism; Environmentalism; 1972 UN Stockholm Conference (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2022
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations:

Downloads: (external link)
https://www.annalsfondazioneluigieinaudi.it/images/LVI/2022-2-002-Bonasera.pdf (application/pdf)

Related works:
This item may be available elsewhere in EconPapers: Search for items with the same title.

Export reference: BibTeX RIS (EndNote, ProCite, RefMan) HTML/Text

Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:fle:journl:v:56:y:2022:i:2:p:7-26

DOI: 10.26331/1194

Access Statistics for this article

Annals of the Fondazione Luigi Einaudi. An Interdisciplinary Journal of Economics, History and Political Science is currently edited by Francesco Cassata, Mario Aldo Cedrini, Roberto Marchionatti, Federica Morelli and Angela Ambrosino

More articles in Annals of the Fondazione Luigi Einaudi. An Interdisciplinary Journal of Economics, History and Political Science from Fondazione Luigi Einaudi, Torino (Italy) Contact information at EDIRC.
Bibliographic data for series maintained by Mario Aldo Cedrini ().