ABSTRACT
Blaming overpopulation for all kinds of social and environmental troubles has a long and layered history, going back to at least the eighteenth century. This chapter explains the development of modern thought on the population question, more recent debates since the 1960s about the impact of overpopulation on environmental quality, and the controversial international policy consequences of neo-Malthusian ideas. While it has slowed down appreciably, population growth continues to be an important driver of global environmental change.
