Thomas Robert Malthus was an influential British economist …

Thomas Robert Malthus was an influential British economist best known for his theory on population growth, outlined in his 1798 book "An Essay on the Principle of Population."
In it, Malthus argued that populations inevitably expand until they outgrow their available food supply, causing the population growth to be reversed by disease, famine, war, or calamity.
He is also known for developing an exponential formula used to forecast population growth, which is currently known as the Malthusian growth model.
Key Takeaways
- Thomas Malthus was an 18th-century British philosopher and economist noted for the Malthusian growth model, an exponential formula used to project population growth.
- The theory states that the supply of food cannot keep up with the growth of the human population, inevitably resulting in disease, famine, war, and calamity.
- A noted statistician and proponent of political economy, Malthus founded the Statistical Society of London.
- Malthus' theories were later used to justify British colonial policies that worsened the human toll of the Irish Potato Famine.
- His theory is now largely dismissed, as modern farming techniques have allowed food production to scale much faster than Malthus could have anticipated.
Understanding the Ideas of Thomas Malthus
In the 18th and early 19th centuries, some philosophers believed firmly that human society would continue to improve and tilt toward a utopian ideal. Malthus countered this belief, arguing that segments of the general population have invariably been poor and miserable, effectively slowing population growth.
Based on his observation of conditions in England in the early 1800s, Malthus argued that available farmland was insufficient to feed the increasing population. More specifically, he stated that the human population increases geometrically, while food production increases arithmetically.
Under this paradigm, humans would reproduce until their numbers surpassed their production capacity, at which point the population would be forcibly reduced by famine or some other catastrophe and return to a manageable level.
The Dismal Science
These conclusions inspired the description of economics as the "dismal science." Originally coined by the philosopher Thomas Carlyle, the term was used to describe Malthus' conclusions regarding the inevitability of overpopulation and famine.
The naturalist Charles Darwin based his theory of natural selection in part on Malthus' analysis of population growth. Malthus' views also enjoyed a resurgence in the 20th century with the advent of Keynesian economics.
Malthus' Early Life and Education
Thomas Malthus was born on February 13, 1766 to a prominent family near Guildford, Surrey. Malthus was home-schooled before being accepted to Cambridge University's Jesus College in 1784. He earned a master's degree in 1791 and became a fellow two years later. In 1805, Malthus became a professor of history and political economy at the East India Company's college at Haileybury.
Malthus became a fellow of the Royal Society in 1819. Two years later, he joined the Political Economy Club along with economist David Ricardo and Scottish philosopher James Mill. Malthus was elected to be one of 10 royal associates of the Royal Society of Literature in 1824.
In 1833, he was elected to both the Académie des Sciences Morales et Politiques in France as well as Berlin's Royal Academy. Malthus co-founded the Statistical Society of London in 1834.
He died in St. Catherine, near Bath, Somerset, in 1834.
Published Works of Thomas Malthus
Malthus' most famous work was his book "Essay on the Principle of Population,: first published in 1798 and enlarged in later editions. This work contained his famous argument that human populations tend to grow faster than agricultural output, resulting in famines or crises.
Later editions proposed that "moral restraint" could slow population growth.
Malthus was a prolific essayist and exchanged many letters with contemporary economists. His other publications included:
- "The Present High Price of Provisions" (1800), in which Malthus criticized England's Poor Laws and argued that aid to the poor would encourage them to have more children than they would otherwise.
- "Observations on the Effect of the Corn Laws" (1814), in which Malthus argued in favor of importing corn from abroad rather than supporting the protectionist Corn Laws.
- "Principles of Political Economy" (1820), a major work in which Malthus outlined his views on free trade in response to the economist David Ricardo, who had written a book with the same title.
The term "political economy" was first used in academic circles when Malthus joined the faculty of the East India Company's college at Haileybury as a professor of history and political economy.
Malthus and Population Growth
Malthus' severe theory on population growth was shaped by his status as an 18th-century Anglican cleric. He believed that poor people would work hard enough to produce…