The Malthusian Trap is what happens to societies that reach the carrying capacity of their environment. For most of human history, humans have lived a Malthusian existence, constantly threatened by famine and disease and warfare. I wrote this for the 2015 MIT Winter Solstice. To the tune of Garden Song.
Dawn to dusk, row by row, better make this garden grow
Move your feet with a plow in tow, on a piece of fertile ground
Inch by inch, blow by blow, gonna take these crops you sow,
From the peasants down below, ‘till the wall comes tumbling downPulling weeds and picking stones, chasing dreams and breaking bones
Got no choice but to grow my own ‘cause the winter’s close at hand
Grain for grain, drought and pain, find my way through nature’s chain
Tune my body and my brain to competition’s demand.Plant those rows straight and long, thicker than with prayer and song.
Emperors will make you strong if your skillset’s very rare.
Old crow watching hungrily, from his perch in yonder tree.
In my garden I’m as free as that feathered thief up there.