Thomas Malthus

From RationalWiki
Jump to: navigation, search
The dismal "science"

Economics

link=:category:
Key concepts

  $ Economics
  $ Capitalism
  $ Communism
  $ Socialism

More about economics
Notable economists
Thomas Malthus, outstripping the increases in your food supply.

The Rev. Thomas Robert Malthus (1766-1834) was a British thinker known for his works in economics, demography, and population.

Contents

[edit] An Essay on the Principle of Population

Malthus' best known work is the 1798 book-length work. Essay on the Principle of Population, which has had a far-reaching influence on not only the overpopulation debate, but much social thought of the 19th-21st centuries. It contains what is now called the "Malthusian growth model," in which food supply grows in a linear fashion while population grows exponentially if left unchecked.[1][2] In the book, Malthus also formulated what would later be called "Malthus' Iron Law of Population," which states that growing population would lead to more supply of labor and thus lower wages. On this basis, Malthus argued for the repeal of poor laws and welfare because they would keep the price of food high and encourage further overpopulation and poverty. He described positive checks on population growth, such as war and starvation, and preventive checks, such as abortion and birth control. He also attempted to address the problem of evil, writing that evil was necessary in the world for virtue to exist.

[edit] See also

[edit] External links

[edit] Footnotes

  1. This, of course, has been falsified numerous times since the Malthus wrote the book. See the Green Revolution for a dramatic example.
  2. Or, technically, it hasn't been falsified because population has never grown in a truly exponential fashion. Joel Cohen writes in How Many People Can the Earth Support (p. 84): "Surprisingly, in spite of the abundant data to the contrary, many people believe that human population grows exponentially. It probably never has and probably never will."
Personal tools
Namespaces

Variants
Actions
Navigation
Community
Toolbox
support