The west has been decoupled from Malthusian equilibrium for two to three centuries. At earlier times, say 800 years ago, I think it can be argued that populati

The west has been decoupled from Malthusian equilibrium for two to three centuries. At earlier times, say 800 years ago, I think it can be argued that population densities in Europe were lower than in China because farming was optimized more for labor than for land -- plowing with horses is less work, but less food, per area, than planting rice by hand. But it's super-hard to figure out cause & effect obviously.