Thomas Robert Malthus’ “Principle of Population” is one of the most widely-read and acclaimed works on population. It’s a classic of social science that’s been updated recently and is a valuable resource for educators, policymakers, and students. It’s a great primer on population and is a must-read for human biology, economics, and geography students.
Lessons from Thomas Robert Malthus’s “Principle of Population”
Malthus’s Principle of Population warned that a Malthusian catastrophe would occur if a population increased faster than the food available to meet its needs. While this hasn’t happened globally, future pressures on food supplies will make overpopulation an even more pressing issue.
Malthus’s principle of population has been used to explain numerous problems industrialized societies face, including inadequate resources and overpopulation. Malthus wrote that overpopulation was a mathematical certainty as human and resource populations increased exponentially. Without any limitations, human people would eventually outgrow available agricultural land and surpass the carrying capacity of local societies.
In the 18th century, many people believed population growth was good. Malthus considered war and disease to be natural checks on population growth. He also thought that competition was a divine inspiration. If the population reached the point of no more change, famines and other catastrophes would inevitably follow.
Illustrations
Malthus’ first essay service, first published anonymously in 1798, is still widely regarded as one of the most influential pieces on population management. He later revised and refined the principle and published more essays under his real name. In his Second Essay, he clarified his distinction between preventive and positive checks on population size. The dividing line would have been at conception, as the term “preventive check” implies. He also categorized spontaneous miscarriages as preventive checks.
Malthus used mathematics to illustrate how the unequal powers of production and reproduction affect human populations. His original theory estimated that the Earth’s population would double every twenty-five years, which seems reasonable today. However, it argues that agricultural production could not keep pace with population growth.
Malthus published six editions of his famous treatise, each with new material and criticism. He was an excellent mathematician and familiar with Newtonian physics and history.
Criticisms
One of the primary criticisms of Malthus’s essay on the principle of population is that it ignores the limits of population growth. He assumed that the number of humans would double every 25 years. But this is not always the case. His calculations also think that the agricultural production of the Earth could not keep up with the rate of population growth.
Another criticism of Malthus involves his opposition to the English Poor Laws, a social assistance system for those with large families. He argued that this significantly contributed to overpopulation and that poor people should not have children. These views ran counter to Christian doctrine. Nevertheless, Malthus was a member of the Church of England.
Malthus’s theory of population growth uses the law of supply and demand. The more people a country has, the more food it needs to provide for them. Food becomes more expensive as the population increases, putting a strain on families and increasing the incidence of child mortality. Additionally, as food prices rise, more land is put under intensive production.
First edition
Thomas Robert Malthus wrote An Essay on the Principle of Population in 1798. The book focuses on the idea that the world’s population can be controlled if people are willing to live in peace. It also rejects the use of abortion, homosexuality, prostitution, and postponing marriage. In 1826, John Murray published two volumes of the essay writer. The volumes are bound in contemporary calf and have raised bands. It is the last essay that Thomas Robert Malthus wrote in his lifetime.
The essay begins with a preface and then contains eleven chapters. In his introduction, Malthus describes how a conversation inspired his ideas with a friend. He also mentions his influences, including Adam Smith and David Hume. The book postulates that the human population is growing exponentially while food production increases linearly. This disparity will eventually lead to overpopulation and insufficient food for subsistence.
The second edition of the write my essay was translated by philosopher and historian P. A. Bibikov, who translated Smith’s Wealth of Nations. This edition contains additional material, such as appendix translations by foreign commentators. It also has a 20-page alphabetical index.
