Thomas Robert Malthus
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| + | "I happened to read for amusement 'Malthus on population', and being well prepared to appreciate the struggle for existence which everywhere goes on from long-continued observation of the habits of animals and plants, it at once struck me that under these circumstances favorable variations would tend to be preserved and unfavorable ones to be destroyed. The result of this would be the formation of a new species." --[[Charles Darwin]] | ||
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| - | '''Thomas Robert Malthus''', [[Royal Society|FRS]] ([[13 February]], [[1766]] – [[29 December]], [[1834]]), was an [[England|English]] [[demography|demographer]] and [[political economy|political economist]] who has become best-known for his influential views on [[population growth]]. | + | '''Thomas Robert Malthus''' (1766 – 1834) was an [[English cleric]], scholar and influential economist in the fields of [[political economy]] and [[demography]]. |
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| + | In his 1798 book ''[[An Essay on the Principle of Population]]'', Malthus observed that an increase in a nation's food production improved the well-being of the population, but the improvement was temporary because it led to population growth, which in turn restored the original [[per capita]] production level. In other words, humans had a propensity to utilize [[Abundance (economics)|abundance]] for population growth rather than for maintaining a high [[standard of living]], a view that has become known as the "[[Malthusian trap]]" or the "Malthusian spectre". Populations had a tendency to grow until the lower class suffered hardship, want and greater susceptibility to war [[famine]] and [[disease]], a pessimistic view that is sometimes referred to as a [[Malthusian catastrophe]]. Malthus wrote in opposition to the popular view in 18th-century Europe that saw society as improving and in principle as perfectible. | ||
| + | ==See also== | ||
| + | * [[Cornucopian]]ism: a counter-Malthusian school of thought | ||
| + | * [[Food Race]], a related idea from [[Daniel Quinn]] | ||
| + | * ''[[The Limits to Growth]]'', from the [[Club of Rome]] | ||
| + | * [[Malthusian trap]] | ||
| + | * [[Malthusian catastrophe]] | ||
| + | * [[Malthusian growth model]] | ||
| + | * [[Malthusian equilibrium]] | ||
| + | * [[Malthusianism]] | ||
| + | * [[National Security Study Memorandum 200]] | ||
| + | * [[Overpopulation]] | ||
| + | * [[World population]] | ||
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"I happened to read for amusement 'Malthus on population', and being well prepared to appreciate the struggle for existence which everywhere goes on from long-continued observation of the habits of animals and plants, it at once struck me that under these circumstances favorable variations would tend to be preserved and unfavorable ones to be destroyed. The result of this would be the formation of a new species." --Charles Darwin |
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Thomas Robert Malthus (1766 – 1834) was an English cleric, scholar and influential economist in the fields of political economy and demography.
In his 1798 book An Essay on the Principle of Population, Malthus observed that an increase in a nation's food production improved the well-being of the population, but the improvement was temporary because it led to population growth, which in turn restored the original per capita production level. In other words, humans had a propensity to utilize abundance for population growth rather than for maintaining a high standard of living, a view that has become known as the "Malthusian trap" or the "Malthusian spectre". Populations had a tendency to grow until the lower class suffered hardship, want and greater susceptibility to war famine and disease, a pessimistic view that is sometimes referred to as a Malthusian catastrophe. Malthus wrote in opposition to the popular view in 18th-century Europe that saw society as improving and in principle as perfectible.
See also
- Cornucopianism: a counter-Malthusian school of thought
- Food Race, a related idea from Daniel Quinn
- The Limits to Growth, from the Club of Rome
- Malthusian trap
- Malthusian catastrophe
- Malthusian growth model
- Malthusian equilibrium
- Malthusianism
- National Security Study Memorandum 200
- Overpopulation
- World population
