T. Robert Malthus
1766-1834
Malthus’s Essay on Population (1798) begins by pointing out
that our ability to produce children will always outstrip our ability to provide
energy for their survival. This, Malthus says, is a condition of our biological
existence. Therefore, he continues, population must be kept in line with what
the society can produce in the way of sustenance. Finally, he states, every way
available to keep population in check—both preventative and positive—has
negative consequence for individuals and societies (including birth control).
Because of this simple fact, he argues, we can never achieve the just and
equitable society anticipated by believers in material and spiritual
progress—poverty, pain, vice, misery will always be the lot of some. Note that
he does not claim that population would soon outstrip its resources and that
society would collapse. Malthus's basic insight had a significant impact on
Darwin, Wallace, and Spencer in their development of evolutionary theory.
Readings:
T. Robert Malthus'
Home Page
1798 Essay: Chapter One ;
Essays:
On your next exam y ou
will be asked to demonstrate that you have read and mastered the course
material. You should take the time now
to answer the following essay questions to create your study guide for that
exam.
Address the questions fully and completely in your own
words and voice. Prepare your answers now.
Discuss Malthus's preventive checks. How
do they
affect human behavior?
What are Malthus's views of inequality?
Why did Malthus oppose the Poor Laws of England?
Short
Answers:
The following short answer questions are from your readings
and may well appear on your next exam. Each can be answered with a short
paragraph of three or four sentences; please use your own words and voice. You
are encouraged to answer these questions now to create your study guide for that
exam.
Why is Malthus's 1798 Essay so maligned?
Discuss Malthus's position on the Poor Laws of
England.
What social practices keep population in line
with subsistence.
What is the cyclical relationship between
production and reproduction?
What was Malthus's prediction of future
population growth?
"For Malthus, overshoot is almost always present
in every human society." Explain.
What are the positive checks on population
growth? How do they differ from preventive checks?
What was Malthus's position on contraception?
Explain Malthus's use of cost/benefit analysis.
What are the Poor Laws?
What conflict did Malthus see between the Poor
Laws and individual liberties?
What reforms did Malthus advocate to address
inequality?
How does Malthus differ from the later Social
Darwinists?
How does Malthus explain the Double Standard
regarding premarital sexual behavior?
How does Spencer see population pressures as
improving the species?
What is frequency of cropping?
What is Boserup's posited relationship between
the system of land use and technology?
What are Boserup's contributions to Malthusian
theory?
How did Malthus influence Darwin and Wallace?
Bibliography:
Malthus, T. R. (1798/2001). An Essay on the
Principle of Population. In F. W. Elwell, A Commentary on Malthus' 1798 Essay
on the Principle of Population as Social Theory (pp. 127-294). Lewiston:
Mellen Press.
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©Frank
Elwell
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