Breath of life, the kiss of death

It is safe to say Thomas Robert Malthus and the British cult group, Pink Floyd have never met. While the two lived at least 175 years apart, their significance has come home for Batswana in 2014, combining to produce the soundtrack to the fears that have gripped the nation since August 07 when the Ebola red alert was issued.

Cruelly, Malthus’ theory of population posits that because human populations grow at an exponential rate while food production grows at an arithmetic rate, natural checks such as war, famine and disease are at play to ensure the species’ survival.