Population increase is a response to increased resource availability, not a cause of shortage (at least, until you reach chaotic breakdown states). If the prima

Population increase is a response to increased resource availability, not a cause of shortage (at least, until you reach chaotic breakdown states). If the primary resource limitation is food (as in many poor countries), when the food supply grows, population grows. In wealthy countries, where the primary resource problem is money, population stays flat or even shrinks - children are expensive! Food supplies have grown tremendously post-WWII, thanks to Green Revolution agriculture. Earth's population has doubled in the past 50 years, but food is actually cheaper than it was 50 years ago.