Includes bibliographical references and index.

1. Introduction: a conceptual overview -- Part I. The demographic backdrop -- 2. Evolution of the population problem -- Part II. Population growth on a finite planet -- 3. Population, affluence, and economic growth -- 4. Growing pressure on world food resources -- 5. Population growth and environmental stress -- Part III. Common dependence on scarce resources -- 6. Dependence on common global resources -- 7. The global politics of resource scarcity -- Part IV. Population growth and social conditions -- 8. Population growth and the human condition -- 9. The human condition and population growth -- Part V. Confronting the population threat -- 10. Evolution of population policies -- 11. Growing awareness of the population threat -- 12. Population strategy for a finite planet -- 13. Only one option.

In an increasingly interdependent world the consequences of continuing population growth affect everyone, regardless of where the growth actually occurs. Each person added to the world's population, however poor, exerts an additional claim on the earth's food, energy, and other resources. Expanding food production requires either fossil fuels or animal draft power. It also demands growing quantities of fresh water. Land is required for living space as well as for food production. Even minimal needs for clothing and shelter exert additional claims on the earth's resources.