The Malthusian Trap

In the late 18th century political economist Thomas Robert Malthus set down a theory that said as population increases the availability of the basics of life, primarily food, would not be able to keep pace with the growing need for it. As a result, we as a species were doomed to experience never ending misery. This pessimistic perspective later became known as "The Malthusian Trap." As humans advance, they also increase the amount of suffering within their ranks. It is a kind of negative "circle of life"that did not bode well for mankind. This over 200-year-old theory continues to ring true in many the poorer parts of the world and our country, for that matter.

The basic premise put forth by Malthus remains provocative, particularly when applied to communication. Let me take a crack at applying what I will call the Malthus perspective to communication. The more our population increases the greater the need we have for effective communication; but the need for effective communication will not be able to be adequately met by the ever growing population. A growing population of individuals with their own need to be heard, to speak out and to properly connect with others will outpace whatever technological advances are made that attempt to foster greater communication.

This analogy does three things: it paints a bleak picture for us in terms of being able to connect with others in a meaningful way; it reveals a real challenge for us if we agree that effective communication is important and worth perserving; and it highlights a great opportunity for us to continue identifying ways in which we will be to practice two-way communication in our day-to-day lives. Thanks to social media and responses by traditional media to keep pace with it, efforts are already underway to help ensure our future is one of effective communication opportunities and channels. At the same time, growing pressures on us in such other areas as economics, the environment, education and world peace guarantees the balance between communication need and communication solution will continue to be at-risk.