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Thomas Robert Malthus - An Essay on the Principle of Population (1798)

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The power of population is so superior to the power of the earth to produce subsistence for man, that premature death must in some shape or other visit the human race.

The world's population will multiply more rapidly than the available food supply.

Population, when unchecked, increases in a geometrical ratio. Subsistence increases only in an arithmetical ratio. A slight acquaintance with numbers will shew the immensity of the first power in comparison of the second.

Evil exists in the world not to create despair but activity.

The redundant population, necessarily occasioned by the prevalence of early marriages, must be repressed by occasional famines, and by the custom of exposing children, which, in times of distress, is probably more frequent than is ever acknowledged to Europeans.

I think it will be found that experience, the true source and foundation of all knowledge, invariably confirms its truth.

The histories of mankind are histories only of the higher classes.

Nature herself in times of great poverty or bad climatic conditions, as well as poor harvest, intervenes to restrict the increase of population of certain countries or races; this, to be sure, by a method as wise as it is ruthless.

The power of population is indefinitely greater than the power in the earth to produce subsistence for man.

The labouring poor, to use a vulgar expression, seem always to live from hand to mouth. Their present wants employ their whole whole attention, and they seldom think of the future. Even when they have an opportunity of saving they seldom exercise it, but all that is beyond their present neccessities goes, generally speaking, to the ale house.

The rich, by unfair combinations, contribute frequently to prolong a season of distress among the poor.

It has appeared that from the inevitable laws of our nature, some human beings must suffer from want. These are the unhappy persons who, in the great lottery of life, have drawn a blank.

The most baleful mischiefs may be expected from the unmanly conduct of not daring to face truth because it is unpleasing.

A feather will weigh down a scale when there is nothing in the opposite one.

The most successful supporters of tyranny are without doubt those general declaimers who attribute the distresses of the poor, and almost all evils to which society is subject, to human institutions and the iniquity of governments.

Thirty or forty proprietors, with incomes answering to between one thousand and five thousand a year, would create a much more effectual demand for the necessaries, conveniences, and luxuries of life, than a single proprietor possessing a hundred thousand a year.

Population, when unchecked, goes on doubling itself every 25 years or increases in a geometrical ratio.

Had population and food increased in the same ratio, it is probable that man might never have emerged from the savage state.

The perpetual tendency of the race of man to increase beyond the means of subsistence is one of the general laws of animated nature, which we can have no reason to expect to change.

The ordeal of virtue is to resist all temptation to evil.

To minds of a certain cast there is nothing so captivating as simplification and generalization.

It may at first appear strange, but I believe it is true, that I cannot by means of money raise a poor man and enable him to live much better than he did before, without proportionably depressing others in the same class.

The transfer of three shillings and sixpence a day to every labourer would not increase the quantity of meat in the country. There is not at present enough for all to have a decent share. What would then be the consequence?

The passion between the sexes has appeared in every age to be so nearly the same, that it may always be considered, in algebraic language as a given quantity.

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Thomas Malthus

• Born: February 14, 1766
• Died: December 23, 1834
• Occupation: Scholar
• Cite this Page: Citation

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An Essay on the Principle of Population Quotes

By thomas malthus.

These notes were contributed by members of the GradeSaver community. We are thankful for their contributions and encourage you to make your own.

Written by Timothy Sexton

Assuming then my postulata as granted, I say, that the power of population is indefinitely greater than the power in the earth to produce subsistence for man. Population, when unchecked, increases in a geometrical ratio. Subsistence increases only in an arithmetical ratio. A slight acquaintance with numbers will shew the immensity of the first power in comparison of the second. By that law of our nature which makes food necessary to the life of man, the effects of these two unequal powers must be kept equal. Malthus

This quote is, in effect, the entire essay boiled down to its essential. Everything springs from this thesis: unless population growth can be checked, the inevitability of an inability to grow enough food to feed everyone is unavoidable. If the calculation of these two ratios is correct and it is a given that production of food can never keep up with production of people, that means there is only one other option. If you can’t improve supply, then you must decrease demand. And that is point at which Malthus becomes one of the most controversial social philosophers of all time.

The power of population is so superior to the power in the earth to produce subsistence for man, that premature death must in some shape or other visit the human race. They are the precursors in the great army of destruction; and often finish the dreadful work themselves. But should they fail in this war of extermination, sickly seasons, epidemics, pestilence, and plague, advance in terrific array, and sweep off their thousands and ten thousands. Should success be still incomplete, gigantic inevitable famine stalks in the rear, and with one mighty blow levels the population with the food of the world. Malthus

And there’s the answer, of course. When supply outreaches demand the one thing that civilization can always depend upon is the ability of natural world or their own vices to take care of the pesky problem of people. To an extent. But if population increases geometrically while food production just continues to lag farther and farther behind, then eventually there will come a time when there simply aren’t enough epidemics, plagues, famines, disasters and other various pestilential outbreaks simply won’t be enough to do the job.

The vices of mankind are active and able ministers of depopulation. Malthus

Fortunately—from the perspective of half the world eventually horribly starving to death—mankind need not rely entirely upon nature and his own inevitable mortality to do keep things in balance. Man has proven himself more than capable of stepping in to show Mother Nature that he has her back. A variety of vices can contribute to impacting the rate of population growth, of course, but none quite so efficiently as that which takes out the largest chunk in the least amount of time: war.

The foundations, therefore, on which the arguments for the organic perfectibility of man rest, are unusually weak, and can only be considered as mere conjectures. It does not, however, by any means seem impossible that by an attention to breed, a certain degree of improvement, similar to that among animals, might take place among men. Whether intellect could be communicated may be a matter of doubt: but size, strength, beauty, complexion, and perhaps even longevity are in a degree transmissible. The error does not seem to lie in supposing a small degree of improvement possible, but in not discriminating between a small improvement, the limit of which is undefined, and an improvement really unlimited. As the human race, however, could not be improved in this way, without condemning all the bad specimens to celibacy, it is not probable that an attention to breed should ever become general. Malthus

Where Malthus starts to get especially controversial is in the unexpected raising of a third possibility to deal with stated problem. The assumption naturally concludes that only two viable options exist: either restrain the rate of population control or increase the production of food. Malthus, however, raises another a tempting third possibility: what if the population of the earth could be made a more efficient consumer of food while at the same time limiting the percentage of that population comprised of less efficient consumers. The idea of genetic breeding of humans in much the same way as that used to create “better” livestock seems so appealing to Malthus that the only obstruction he can find worthy of commentary is that the problem faced with trying to convince the less genetically efficient stop having sex with each other. Needless to say, this particular theoretical aspect of Malthus was quite popular within the scientific community of the Nazi Party.

The poor laws of England tend to depress the general condition of the poor in these two ways. Their first obvious tendency is to increase population without increasing the food for its support. A poor man may marry with little or no prospect of being able to support a family in independence. They may be said therefore in some measure to create the poor which they maintain. Malthus

In addition to the controversy of Malthus seeming to be willing to experiment with genetically produced “master races” at least in theory there is the controversy of Malthus calling for concrete legislation targeting the poor. Malthus does not just target the poor for legislation oppression that would create stricter and more rigid guidelines for qualifying for public assistance, but goes so far as to blame them for the state of their own economic deprivation.

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Study Guide for An Essay on the Principle of Population

An Essay on the Principle of Population study guide contains a biography of Thomas Malthus, literature essays, quiz questions, major themes, characters, and a full summary and analysis.

• About An Essay on the Principle of Population
• An Essay on the Principle of Population Summary
• Character List

Essays for An Essay on the Principle of Population

An Essay on the Principle of Population essays are academic essays for citation. These papers were written primarily by students and provide critical analysis of An Essay on the Principle of Population by Thomas Malthus.

• Malthus and Darwin: A Study of Theories and Their Adaptation

Wikipedia Entries for An Essay on the Principle of Population

• Introduction

Thomas Robert Malthus

Thomas Robert Malthus ( 13 February 1766 – 29 December 1834 ) was an English demographer and political economist best known for his pessimistic but highly influential views on population growth .

• 1.1 An Essay on The Principle of Population (First Edition 1798, unrevised)
• 1.2 Essay on the Principle of Population (1798; rev. through 1826)
• 1.3 Principles of Political Economy (Second Edition 1836)
• 2 Quotes about Malthus
• 3 External links

An Essay on The Principle of Population (First Edition 1798, unrevised)

• Chapter I, paragraph 9, lines 1-2
• Chapter I, paragraph 18, lines 1-2
• Chapter IV, paragraph 13, lines 11-15
• Chapter V, paragraph 2, lines 1-5
• Chapter V, paragraph 3, lines 5-8
• Chapter V, paragraph 13, lines 1-3
• Chapter V, paragraph 13, lines 8-13
• Chapter V, paragraph 23, lines 3-7
• Chapter V, paragraph 25, lines 4-5
• Chapter VII, paragraph 10, lines 8-10
• Chapter VII, paragraph 20, lines 2-4
• Chapter IX, paragraph 7, lines 1-4
• Chapter IX, paragraph 8, lines 14-16
• Chapter IX, paragraph 9, lines 1-3

• Chapter IX, paragraph 14, lines 22-27 ( see also eugenics )
• Chapter X, paragraph 7, line 1
• Chapter X, paragraph 29, lines 12-15
• Chapter XI, paragraph 1, lines 6-8
• Chapter XII, paragraph 6, lines 8-9
• Chapter XIII, paragraph 2, lines 19-22
• Chapter XIV, paragraph 9
• Chapter XVIII, paragraph 11, lines 16-17
• Chapter XIX, paragraph 2, lines 1-6
• Chapter XIX, paragraph 15, line 1

Essay on the Principle of Population (1798; rev. through 1826)

• The most successful supporters of tyranny are without doubt those general declaimers who attribute the distresses of the poor, and almost all evils to which society is subject, to human institutions and the iniquity of governments.
• If I saw a glass of wine repeatedly presented to a man, and he took no notice of it, I should be apt to think that he was blind or uncivil. A juster philosophy might teach me rather to think that my eyes deceived me, and that the offer was not really what I conceived it to be.
• The germs of existence contained in this spot of earth, with ample food, and ample room to expand in, would fill millions of worlds in the course of a few thousand years.
• The perpetual tendency of the race of man to increase beyond the means of subsistence is one of the general laws of animated nature, which we can have no reason to expect to change.
• The immediate cause of the increase of population is the excess of the births above deaths; and the rate of increase, or the period of doubling, depends upon the proportion which the excess of the births above the deaths bears to the population.
• The main peculiarity which distinguishes man from other animals, is the means of his support, is the power which he possesses of very greatly increasing these means.
• The finest minds seem to be formed rather by efforts at original thinking, by endeavours to form new combinations, and to discover new truths, than by passively receiving the impressions of other men's ideas.
• we should facilitate, instead of foolishly and vainly endeavouring to impede, the operations of nature in producing this mortality; and if we dread the too frequent visitation of the horrid form of famine, we should sedulously encourage the other forms of destruction, which we compel nature to use. Instead of recommending cleanliness to the poor, we should encourage contrary habits. In our towns we should make the streets narrower, crowd more people into the houses, and court the return of the plague. In the country, we should build our villages near stagnant pools, and particularly encourage settlements in all marshy and unwholesome situations.*12 But above all, we should reprobate specific remedies for ravaging diseases; and those benevolent, but much mistaken men, who have thought they were doing a service to mankind by projecting schemes for the total extirpation of particular disorders. [ Book IV, Chapter V ]

Principles of Political Economy (Second Edition 1836)

• Advertisement to the Second Edition, p. vii
• Book I, Introduction, p. 1
• Book I, Introduction, p. 5
• Book I, Introduction, p. 8
• Book I, Introduction, p. 9
• Book I, Chapter I, Of The Definitions of Wealth and of Productive Labour, Section II, p. 40
• Book I, Chapter I, Of The Definitions of Wealth and of Productive Labour, Section II, p. 43
• Book I, Chapter I, Of The Definitions of Wealth and of Productive Labour, Section II, p. 49
• Book I, Chapter II, On the Nature, Causes, and Measures of Value, Section IV, p. 88
• Book I, Chapter III, Of the Rent of Land, Section IX, p. 214
• Book I, Chapter III, Of the Rent of Land, Section IX, p. 216
• Book I, Chapter V, Of the Profits of Capital, Section III, p. 279
• Book II, Chapter I, On the Progress of Wealth, Section I, p. 309
• Book II, Chapter I, On the Progress of Wealth, Section IV, p. 349 ( See also; Says Law )
• Book II, Chapter I, On the Progress of Wealth, Section V, p. 355
• Book II, Chapter I, On the Progress of Wealth, Section VII, p. 374
• Book II, Chapter I, On the Progress of Wealth, Section VIII, p. 382-383
• Book II, Chapter I, On the Progress of Wealth, Section VIII, p. 384
• Book II, Chapter I, On the Progress of Wealth, Section IX, p. 400 (See also: David Ricardo and aggregate demand )
• Book II, Chapter I, On the Progress of Wealth, Section IX, p. 403
• Book II, Chapter I, On the Progress of Wealth, Section IX, p. 406
• Book II, Chapter I, On the Progress of Wealth, Section IX, p. 408
• Book II, Chapter I, On The Progress of Wealth, Section IX, p. 410
• Book II, Chapter I, On The Progress of Wealth, Section IX, p. 412-413
• Book II, Chapter I, On The Progress of Wealth, Section X, p. 414 (See also: Karl Marx , Capital Volume I , Chapter 25, Section 4(e), p. 742
• Book II, Chapter I, On The Progress of Wealth, Section X, p. 422
• Book II, Chapter I, On The Progress of Wealth, Section X, p. 430
• Book II, Chapter I, On The Progress of Wealth, Section X, p. 437

Quotes about Malthus

• Aristotle , Politics, I, III-17
• Ambrose Bierce , The Devil's Dictionary (1911).
• William R. Catton , Malthus: More Relevant Than Ever
• Charles Dickens , A Christmas Carol , Verlag Edition, Berlin 1885, p. 113
• Friedrich Engels , The Condition of the Working Class in England
• Felipe Fernández-Armesto , Millennium, Epilogue, p. 723
• John Kenneth Galbraith , The Age of Uncertainty , Chapter 4, p. 109-110
• William Hazlitt, The Spirit of the Age; Or, Contemporary Portraits
• Adolf Hitler , Mein Kampf , Chapter IV, Munich, p. 131
• Robert Heilbroner , The Worldly Philosophers , Chapter IV, p. 84
• William Stanley Jevons , The Theory of Political Economy, Chapter VIII, p. 214
• Peter Kropotkin , Fields, Factories and Workshops (1899)
• James Howard Kunstler , The Long Emergency , Chapter 1, pp. 6–7
• Karl Marx , Grundrisse , Notebook III, The Chapter on Capital, p. 271
• Tom Murphy, " The Cult of Civilization " (October 4, 2022)
• David Ricardo , On the Principles of Political Economy and Taxation , (Third Edition),Chapter II, p. 41
• Eric Roll , A History of Economic Thought, Chapter 4, p. 143
• Bertrand Russell , Unpopular Essays, Chapter VII, p. 132
• Jean-Baptiste Say , A Treatise On Political Economy (Fourth Edition), Book II, Chapter XI, Section I, p. 375
• Adam Smith , The Wealth of Nations , Book I, Chapter 8, p. 97

External links

• Malthus's population essay

• Academics from England
• Economists from England
• Classical economists
• Philosophers from England
• Essayists from England
• Clergy from England
• Theologians from England
• Biologists from England
• 1766 births
• 1834 deaths
• Anglicans from the United Kingdom
• University of Cambridge alumni
• Fellows of the Royal Society

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ECONLIB Books

An Essay on the Principle of Population

By thomas robert malthus.

There are two versions of Thomas Robert Malthus’s Essay on the Principle of Population . The first, published anonymously in 1798, was so successful that Malthus soon elaborated on it under his real name. * The rewrite, culminating in the sixth edition of 1826, was a scholarly expansion and generalization of the first.Following his success with his work on population, Malthus published often from his economics position on the faculty at the East India College at Haileybury. He was not only respected in his time by contemporaneous intellectuals for his clarity of thought and willingness to focus on the evidence at hand, but he was also an engaging writer capable of presenting logical and mathematical concepts succinctly and clearly. In addition to writing principles texts and articles on timely topics such as the corn laws, he wrote in many venues summarizing his initial works on population, including a summary essay in the Encyclopædia Britannica on population.The first and sixth editions are presented on Econlib in full. Minor corrections of punctuation, obvious spelling errors, and some footnote clarifications are the only substantive changes. * Malthus’s “real name” may have been Thomas Robert Malthus, but a descendent, Nigel Malthus, reports that his family says he did not use the name Thomas and was known to friends and colleagues as Bob. See The Malthus Homepage, a site maintained by Nigel Malthus, a descendent.For more information on Malthus’s life and works, see New School Profiles: Thomas Robert Malthus and The International Society of Malthus. Lauren Landsburg

Editor, Library of Economics and Liberty

First Pub. Date

London: John Murray

6th edition

The text of this edition is in the public domain. Picture of Malthus courtesy of The Warren J. Samuels Portrait Collection at Duke University.

Table of Contents

• Chapter III
• Chapter VII
• Chapter VIII
• Chapter XII
• Chapter XIII
• Chapter XIV
• Bk.II,Ch.II
• Bk.II,Ch.III
• Bk.II,Ch.IV
• Bk.II,Ch.VI
• Bk.II,Ch.VII
• Bk.II,Ch.VIII
• Bk.II,Ch.IX
• Bk.II,Ch.XI, On the Fruitfulness of Marriages
• Bk.II,Ch.XII
• Bk.II,Ch.XIII
• Bk.III,Ch.I
• Bk.III,Ch.II
• Bk.III,Ch.III
• Bk.III,Ch.IV
• Bk.III,Ch.V
• Bk.III,Ch.VI
• Bk.III,Ch.VII
• Bk.III,Ch.VIII
• Bk.III,Ch.IX
• Bk.III,Ch.X
• Bk.III,Ch.XI
• Bk.III,Ch.XII
• Bk.III,Ch.XIII
• Bk.III,Ch.XIV
• Bk.IV,Ch.II
• Bk.IV,Ch.III
• Bk.IV,Ch.IV
• Bk.IV,Ch.VI
• Bk.IV,Ch.VII
• Bk.IV,Ch.VIII
• Bk.IV,Ch.IX
• Bk.IV,Ch.XI
• Bk.IV,Ch.XII
• Bk.IV,Ch.XIII
• Bk.IV,Ch.XIV
• Appendix II

Preface to the Second Edition

The Essay on the Principle of Population, which I published in 1798, was suggested, as is expressed in the preface, by a paper in Mr. Godwin’s Inquirer. It was written on the impulse of the occasion, and from the few materials which were then within my reach in a country situation. The only authors from whose writings I had deduced the principle, which formed the main argument of the Essay, were Hume, Wallace, Adam Smith, and Dr. Price; and my object was to apply it, to try the truth of those speculations on the perfectibility of man and society, which at that time excited a considerable portion of the public attention.

In the course of the discussion I was naturally led into some examination of the effects of this principle on the existing state of society. It appeared to account for much of that poverty and misery observable among the lower classes of people in every nation, and for those reiterated failures in the efforts of the higher classes to relieve them. The more I considered the subject in this point of view, the more importance it seemed to acquire; and this consideration, joined to the degree of public attention which the Essay excited, determined me to turn my leisure reading towards an historical examination of the effects of the principle of population on the past and present state of society; that, by illustrating the subject more generally, and drawing those inferences from it, in application to the actual state of things, which experience seemed to warrant, I might give it a more practical and permanent interest.

In the course of this inquiry I found that much more had been done than I had been aware of, when I first published the Essay. The poverty and misery arising from a too rapid increase of population had been distinctly seen, and the most violent remedies proposed, so long ago as the times of Plato and Aristotle. And of late years the subject has been treated in such a manner by some of the French Economists; occasionally by Montesquieu, and, among our own writers, by Dr. Franklin, Sir James Stewart, Mr. Arthur Young, and Mr. Townsend, as to create a natural surprise that it had not excited more of the public attention.

Much, however, remained yet to be done. Independently of the comparison between the increase of population and food, which had not perhaps been stated with sufficient force and precision, some of the most curious and interesting parts of the subject had been either wholly omitted or treated very slightly. Though it had been stated distinctly, that population must always be kept down to the level of the means of subsistence; yet few inquiries had been made into the various modes by which this level is effected; and the principle had never been sufficiently pursued to its consequences, nor had those practical inferences drawn from it, which a strict examination of its effects on society appears to suggest.

These therefore are the points which I have treated most in detail in the following Essay. In its present shape it may be considered as a new work, and I should probably have published it as such, omitting the few parts of the former which I have retained, but that I wished it to form a whole of itself, and not to need a continual reference to the other. On this account I trust that no apology is necessary to the purchasers of the first edition.

To those who either understood the subject before, or saw it distinctly on the perusal of the first edition, I am fearful that I shall appear to have treated some parts of it too much in detail, and to have been guilty of unnecessary repetitions. These faults have arisen partly from want of skill, and partly from intention. In drawing similar inferences from the state of society in a number of different countries, I found it very difficult to avoid some repetitions; and in those parts of the inquiry which led to conclusions different from our usual habits of thinking, it appeared to me that, with the slightest hope of producing conviction, it was necessary to present them to the reader’s mind at different times, and on different occasions. I was willing to sacrifice all pretensions to merit of composition, to the chance of making an impression on a larger class of readers.

The main principle advanced is so incontrovertible, that, if I had confined myself merely to general views, I could have intrenched myself in an impregnable fortress; and the work, in this form, would probably have had a much more masterly air. But such general views, though they may advance the cause of abstract truth, rarely tend to promote any practical good; and I thought that I should not do justice to the subject, and bring it fairly under discussion, if I refused to consider any of the consequences which appeared necessarily to flow from it, whatever these consequences might be. By pursuing this plan, however, I am aware that I have opened a door to many objections, and, probably, to much severity of criticism: but I console myself with the refection, that even the errors into which I may have fallen, by affording a handle to argument, and an additional excitement to examination, may be subservient to the important end of bringing a subject so nearly connected with the happiness of society into more general notice.

Throughout the whole of the present work I have so far differed in principle from the former, as to suppose the action of another check to population which does not come under the head either of vice or misery; and, in the latter part I have endeavoured to soften some of the harshest conclusions of the first Essay. In doing this, I hope that I have not violated the principles of just reasoning; nor expressed any opinion respecting the probable improvement of society, in which I am not borne out by the experience of the past. To those who still think that any check to population whatever would be worse than the evils which it would relieve, the conclusions of the former Essay will remain in full force; and if we adopt this opinion we shall be compelled to acknowledge, that the poverty and misery which prevail among the lower classes of society are absolutely irremediable.

I have taken as much pains as I could to avoid any errors in the facts and calculations which have been produced in the course of the work. Should any of them nevertheless turn out to be false, the reader will see that they will not materially affect the general scope of the reasoning.

From the crowd of materials which presented themselves, in illustration of the first branch of the subject, I dare not flatter myself that I have selected the best, or arranged them in the most perspicuous method. To those who take an interest in moral and political questions, I hope that the novelty and importance of the subject will compensate the imperfections of its execution.

Preface to the Fifth Edition

This Essay was first published at a period of extensive warfare, combined, from peculiar circumstances, with a most prosperous foreign commerce.

It came before the public, therefore, at a time when there would be an extraordinary demand for men, and very little disposition to suppose the possibility of any evil arising from the redundancy of population. Its success, under these disadvantages, was greater than could have been reasonably expected; and it may be presumed that it will not lose its interest, after a period of a different description has succeeded, which has in the most marked manner illustrated its principles, and confirmed its conclusions.

On account, therefore, of the nature of the subject, which, it must be allowed is one of permanent interest, as well as of the attention likely to be directed to it in future, I am bound to correct those errors of my work, of which subsequent experience and information may have convinced me, and to make such additions and alterations as appear calculated to improve it, and promote its utility.

It would have been easy to have added many further historical illustrations of the first part of the subject; but as I was unable to supply the want I once alluded to, of accounts of sufficient accuracy to ascertain what part of the natural power of increase each particular check destroys, it appeared to me that the conclusion which I had before drawn from very ample evidence of the only kind that could be obtained, would hardly receive much additional force by the accumulation of more, precisely of the same description.

In the two first books, therefore, the only additions are a new chapter on France, and one on England, chiefly in reference to facts which have occurred since the publication of the last edition.

In the third book I have given an additional chapter on the Poor-Laws; and as it appeared to me that the chapters on the Agricultural and Commercial Systems, and the Effects of increasing Wealth on the Poor, were not either so well arranged, or so immediately applicable to the main subject, as they ought to be; and as I further wished to make some alterations in the chapter on Bounties upon Exportation, and add something on the subject of Restrictions upon Importation, I have recast and rewritten the chapters which stand the 8th, 9th, 10th, 11th, 12th, 13th, in the present edition; and given a new title, and added two or three passages, to the 14th and last chapter of the same book.

In the fourth book I have added a new chapter to the one entitled Effects of the Knowledge of the principal Cause of Poverty on Civil Liberty; and another to the chapter on the Different Plans of improving the Poor; and I have made a considerable addition to the Appendix, in reply to some writers on the Principles of Population, whose works have appeared since the last edition.

These are the principal additions and alterations made in the present edition. They consist, in a considerable degree, of the application of the general principles of the Essay to the present state of things.

For the accommodation of the purchasers of the former editions, these additions and alterations will be published in a separate volume.

Book I, Chapter II.

In my review of the different stages of society, I have been accused of not allowing sufficient weight in the prevention of population to moral restraint; but when the confined sense of the term, which I have here explained, is adverted to, I am fearful that I shall not be found to have erred much in this respect. I should be very glad to believe myself mistaken.

It should be observed, that, by an increase in the means of subsistence, is here meant such an increase as will enable the mass of the society to command more food. An increase might certainly take place, which in the actual state of a particular society would not be distributed to the lower classes, and consequently would give no stimulus to population.

Book I, Chapter III.

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An Essay on the Principle of Population

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Chapter Summaries & Analyses

Chapters 1-2

Chapters 3-5

Chapters 6-9

Chapters 10-15

Chapters 16-19

Key Figures

Index of Terms

Important Quotes

Essay Topics

Discussion Questions

Summary and Study Guide

An Essay on the Principle of Population by Thomas Malthus was first published anonymously in 1798. Its core argument, that human population will inevitably outgrow its capacity to produce food, widely influenced the field of early 19th century economics and social science. Immediately after its first printing, Malthus’s essay garnered significant attention from his contemporaries, and he soon felt the need to reveal his identity. Although it was highly controversial, An Essay on the Principle of Population nevertheless left its impression on foundational 19th century theorists, such as naturalist Charles Darwin and economists Friedrich Engels and Karl Marx. Modern economists have largely dismissed the Malthusian perspective . Principally, they argue Malthus underappreciated the exponential growth brought about by the advent of the Industrial Revolution; by the discovery of new energy sources, such as coal and electricity; and later by further technological innovations. These modern criticisms are easily defended with historical retrospective.

Malthus’s essay has been revised several times since its publication. This summary focuses on the contents of the first edition. In 1806, Malthus revamped his work into four books to further discuss points of contention in the first edition and address many of the criticisms it received. Three more editions followed (published in 1807, 1817, and 1826 respectively), each modifying or clarifying points made in the second version.

Although Malthus’s basic stance on the unsustainable growth of population to food production remains the same throughout all versions, the most dramatic change in format and content is found between the first and second editions. The first edition is notable for its long and detailed critique of the works of William Godwin, Marquis de Condorcet, and Richard Price on the perfectibility of humankind. Its lack of “hard data” and its unpracticed opinions on sex and reproduction were heavily criticized by his contemporaries. The 1806 publication, written at a later point in Malthus’s life, attempts to address these issues by focusing less on critiquing the works of other theorists and offering better data on the fluctuation of population growth throughout various European countries and colonies (Malthus, Thomas Robert. An Essay on the Principle of Population: the 1803 edition . Yale University Press. 2018).

An Essay on the Principle of Population begins with a preface and is subsequently separated into eleven chapters. The preface reveals that a conversation with a friend on the future improvement of society was what sparked Malthus’s inspiration for this work. Chapter 1 further credits the works of David Hume, Alfred Russel, Adam Smith, and many others for inspiring his own writing. He postulates that population grows exponentially, whereas food production only increases in a linear fashion. This disparity in power will inevitably lead to overpopulation and an inadequate amount of food for subsistence.

Chapter 2 further details the above premise. Malthus imagines a world of abundance. In such a society of ease and leisure, no one would be anxious about providing for their families, which incentivizes them to marry early, causing birth rates to explode. When there are too many people and too little an increase in food to support them, the lower classes will be plunged into a state of misery. Thus, Malthus concludes that population growth only happens when there is an increase in subsistence, and misery and vice keep the world from overpopulation.

In chapters 3, 4, and 5, Malthus applies his theory to different stages of society. He argues that “savage” and shepherding societies never grow as fast as their “civilized” counterparts because various miseries keep their numbers in check. Among “savage” societies, a lack of food and a general disrespect of personal liberties prevent their numbers from increasing rapidly. Shepherding communities, meanwhile, often wage war over territories and suffer a high mortality rate. Civilized societies grew rapidly after adopting the practice of tilling, but due to exhausting most fertile land, their numbers no longer increase at the same rate as before.

The following two chapters are notable because they are the only ones that contain hard data. Malthus cites philosopher Richard Price for his analysis of population in America and references demographer Johann Peter Süssmilch for his work on Prussia. Malthus uses both these examples to prove that population fluctuates in accordance with the quantity of food produced. Chapters 8 and 9 are dedicated to critiquing mathematician Marquis de Condorcet’s work while chapters 10 to 15 do the same for political philosopher William Godwin. Malthus rejects the idea of mankind as infinitely perfectible and dismisses charity as a method to relieve poverty.

Chapters 16 and 17 propose the increase of food production as the only solution to reduce extreme poverty and misery among the lower class. Malthus maintains that donating funds is but a temporary relief to aid the most unfortunate; only a permanent increase in agricultural yield can grow the lower class’s purchasing power. Nevertheless, the final two chapters remind readers that misery and happiness must coexist. The law of nature, the way of living intended by God and demonstrated by Malthus’s population theory, requires both wealth and poverty to function.

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Part of: An Essay on the Principle of Population, 2 vols. [1826, 6th ed.] An Essay on the Principle of Population, vol. 2 [1826, 6th ed.]

• Thomas Robert Malthus (author)

Vol. 2 of the 6th expanded edition of Essay on the Principle of Population. In this work Malthus argues that there is a disparity between the rate of growth of population (which increases geometrically) and the rate of growth of agriculture (which increases only arithmetically). He then explores how populations have historically been kept in check. .

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An Essay on the Principle of Population, or a View of its Past and Present Effects on Human Happiness; with an Inquiry into our Prospects respecting the Future Removal or Mitigation of the Evils which it Occasions (London: John Murray 1826). 6th ed.

The text is in the public domain.

• Economic theory. Demography

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• Malthus: For and Against

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A contemporary classical economist, Say both popularized and criticized Malthus's view on population.

The father of classical political economy, and an important forerunner of Malthus

Critical Responses

Nassau William Senior

Senior generally agrees with Malthus on population but there are some differences which are brought out in the correspondence between them.

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David Ricardo and T. R. Malthus shared an endearing friendship despite a contentious divergence of opinion on many political economic issues. This volume contains the formal remnants of their differences. Ricardo analyzes, issue-by-issue, his points of divergence to Malthus’s Principles of…

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