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An Essay on the Principle of Population was first published anonymously in 1798. The author was soon identified as the Reverend Thomas Robert Malthus. The Rev. ...
Whilst not the first book on population, it is acknowledged as the most influential.
1st edition The full title of the 1st edition of Malthus' essay was "An Essay on the Principle of Population, as it affects the Future Improvement of Society with remarks on the Speculations of Mr. Godwin, M. Condorcet, and Other Writers."
William Godwin had published his utopian work Enquiry concerning Policical Justice in 1793, with later editions in 1796 and 1798. Also, Of Avarice and Profusion (1797). Malthus' remarks on Godwin's work spans a full five chapters out of nineteen. Godwin responded with Of Population (1820). William Godwin William Godwin (3 March 1756 – 7 April 1836) was an English political and miscellaneous writer, considered one of the important precursors of both utilitarian and liberal anarchist thought. ...
See Utopia (disambiguation) for other meanings of this word Utopia, in its most common and general meaning, refers to a hypothetical perfect society. ...
The Marquis de Condorcet had published his equally utopian vision of social progress and the perfectibility of man Esquisse d'un Tableau Historique des Progres de l'Espirit Humain (The Future Progress of the Human Mind) in 1794. Malthus' remarks on Condorcet's work span two chapters. Marquis de Condorcet Marie Jean Antoine Nicolas Caritat, marquis de Condorcet (September 17, 1743 - March 28, 1794) was a French philosopher, mathematician, and early political scientist who devised the concept of a Condorcet method. ...
Malthus' essay was in response to these utopian visions, as he argued:
"This natural inequality of the two powers, of population, and of production of the earth, and that great law of our nature which must constantly keep their effects equal, form the great difficultly that appears to me insurmountable in the way to the perfectibility of society."
"Other writers" included Robert Wallace, Adam Smith, Richard Price, and David Hume. Adam Smith, FRSE (Baptised June 5, 1723 – July 17, 1790) was a Scottish political economist and moral philosopher. ...
Richard Price (February 23, 1723 - April 19, 1791), was a Welsh moral and political philosopher. ...
Wikiquote has a collection of quotations related to: David Hume Online editions of Humes work: Works by David Hume at Project Gutenberg Free eBook of A Treatise of Human Nature at Project Gutenberg Free eBook of The History of England, Volume I at Project Gutenberg Free eBook of An...
Malthus himself claimed:
"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..."
The exponential nature of population growth is today known as the Malthusian growth model. This aspect of Malthus' Principle of Population, together with his assertion that food supply was subject to an linear growth model, would remain unchanged in future editions of his essay. Note that Malthus actually used the terms geometric and arithmetic , respectively. The term exponential may refer to any of several topics in mathematics: Exponential distribution Exponential function Exponential growth, exponential decay Exponential time Matrix exponential Exponential map (in differential geometry) All relate in some fashion to exponents. ...
It has been suggested that this article or section be merged with Malthus. ...
The word linear comes from the Latin word linearis, which means created by lines. ...
In mathematics, a geometric progression (also known as a geometric sequence, and, inaccurately, as a geometric series; see below) is a sequence of numbers such that the quotient of any two successive members of the sequence is a constant called the common ratio of the sequence. ...
In mathematics, an arithmetic progression is a sequence of numbers such that the difference of any two successive members of the sequence is a constant. ...
2nd to 6th editions Following both widespread praise and criticism of his essay, Malthus revised his arguments and recognised other influences:
"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."
The 2nd edition, published in 1803 (with Malthus now clearly identified as the author), was entitled "An Essay on the Principle of Population; or, a View of its Past and Present Effects on Human Happiness; with an enquiry into our Prospects respecting the Future Removal or Mitigation of the Evils which it occassions."
Malthus advised that the 2nd edition "may be considered as a new work", and essentially the subsequent editions were all minor revisions of the 2nd edition. These were published in 1806, 1807, 1817, and 1826.
By far the biggest change was in how the 2nd to 6th editions of the essay were structured, and the most copious and detailed evidence that Malthus presented, more than any previous such book on population. Essentially, for the first time, Malthus examined his own Principle of Population on a region by region basis of world population. With typical 19th century British cultural bias, the essay was organised in four books: Evidence has several meanings as indicated below. ...
The world population is the total number of humans alive on the planet Earth at a given time. ...
Alternative meaning: Nineteenth Century (periodical) (18th century — 19th century — 20th century — more centuries) As a means of recording the passage of time, the 19th century was that century which lasted from 1801-1900 in the sense of the Gregorian calendar. ...
Cultural bias is interpreting and judging phenomena in terms particular to ones own culture. ...
- Book I - Of the Checks to Population in the Less Civilized Parts of the World and in Past Times.
- Book II - Of the Checks To Population in the Different States of Modern Europe.
- Book III - Of the different Systems or Expedients which have been proposed or have prevailed in Society, as They affect the Evils arising from the Principle of Population.
- Book IV - Of our future Prospects respecting the Removal or Mitigation of the Evils arising from the Principle of Population.
Due in part to the highly influential nature of Malthus' work (see Main article: Malthus), this approach is regarded as pivotal in establishing the field of demography. The Rev. ...
Demography is the study of human population dynamics. ...
From the 2nd edition onwards - in Book IV - Malthus advocated moral restraint as an additional, and voluntary, check on population. This included such measures as sexual abstinence and late marriage. This group of political volunteers is working to promote voter turn-out. ...
Sexual abstinence is the practice of voluntarily refraining from some or all aspects of sexual activity. ...
Ecologist Professor Garrett Hardin echoes 19th century criticisms of Malthus' hardness of heart in what he termed The Feast of Malthus in the magazine The Social Contract (1998). The offending passage of Malthus' essay appeared in the 2nd edition only, as Malthus felt obliged to remove it. Garrett Hardin Garrett James Hardin (April 21, 1915 – September 14, 2003) was a controversial ecologist from Dallas, Texas who was most known for his 1968 paper, The Tragedy of the commons. ...
Alternative meaning: Nineteenth Century (periodical) (18th century — 19th century — 20th century — more centuries) As a means of recording the passage of time, the 19th century was that century which lasted from 1801-1900 in the sense of the Gregorian calendar. ...
As noted by Professor Robert M. Young, Malthus dropped his chapters on natural theology from the 2nd edition onwards. Also, the essay became less of a personal response to William Godwin and Marquis de Condorcet. Natural theology (or natural religion) is theology based on reason and ordinary experience. ...
William Godwin William Godwin (3 March 1756 – 7 April 1836) was an English political and miscellaneous writer, considered one of the important precursors of both utilitarian and liberal anarchist thought. ...
Marquis de Condorcet Marie Jean Antoine Nicolas Caritat, marquis de Condorcet (September 17, 1743 - March 28, 1794) was a French philosopher, mathematician, and early political scientist who devised the concept of a Condorcet method. ...
The 6th edition is the version of the essay that influenced both Charles Darwin and Alfred Russell Wallace, co-founders of the theory of evolution. In his lifetime Charles Darwin gained international fame as an influential scientist examining controversial topics. ...
Alfred Russel Wallace Alfred Russel Wallace (January 8, 1823 — November 7, 1913) was a British naturalist, geographer, anthropologist and biologist. ...
This article is about biological evolution. ...
A Summary View A Summary View on the Principle of Population was published in 1830. The author was identified as Rev. T.R.Malthus, A.M., F.R.S.. Malthus wrote A Summary View for those who did not have the leisure to read the full essay and, as he put it: The Royal Society of London is claimed to be the oldest learned society still in existence and was founded in 1660. ...
"...to correct some of the misrepresentations which have gone abroad respecting two or three of the most important points of the Essay..."
See main article Malthus for more. The Rev. ...
This was Malthus' final word on his Principle of Population. He died in 1834.
Other Works that influenced Malthus - Of the Populousness of Ancient Nations (1752) - David Hume (1711-76)
- An inquiry into the Nature and Causes of the Wealth of Nations (1776) - Adam Smith (1723-90)
- A Dissertation on the Numbers of Mankind in Ancient and Modern Times (1753), Characteristics of the Present State of Great Britain (1758), and Various Prospects of Mankind, Nature and Providence (1761) - Robert Wallace (1697-1771)
- Essay on the Population of England from the Revolution to Present Time (1780), Evidence for a Future Period in the State of Mankind, with the Means and Duty of Promoting it (1787) - Richard Price (1723-1791).
- Observations concerning the Increase of Mankind, peopling of Countries, etc. (1751) by Benjamin Franklin (1706-1790)
See also Adam Smith, FRSE (Baptised June 5, 1723 – July 17, 1790) was a Scottish political economist and moral philosopher. ...
Wikiquote has a collection of quotations related to: David Hume Online editions of Humes work: Works by David Hume at Project Gutenberg Free eBook of A Treatise of Human Nature at Project Gutenberg Free eBook of The History of England, Volume I at Project Gutenberg Free eBook of An...
Benjamin Franklin by Jean-Baptiste Greuze 1777 Benjamin Franklin (January 17, 1706 – April 17, 1790) was one of the most prominent of Founders and early political figures and statesmen of the United States. ...
Marquis de Condorcet Marie Jean Antoine Nicolas Caritat, marquis de Condorcet (September 17, 1743 - March 28, 1794) was a French philosopher, mathematician, and early political scientist who devised the concept of a Condorcet method. ...
Montesquieu can refer to: Charles de Secondat, Baron de Montesquieu Several communes of France: Montesquieu, in the Hérault département Montesquieu, in the Lot-et-Garonne département Montesquieu, in the Tarn-et-Garonne département This is a disambiguation page — a navigational aid which lists other pages that might otherwise share the...
Richard Price (February 23, 1723 - April 19, 1791), was a Welsh moral and political philosopher. ...
William Godwin William Godwin (3 March 1756 – 7 April 1836) was an English political and miscellaneous writer, considered one of the important precursors of both utilitarian and liberal anarchist thought. ...
References - An Essay On The Principle Of Population (1798 1st edition) with A Summary View (1830), and Introduction by Professor Anthony Flew. Penguin Classics. ISBN 0-14-043206
- An Essay On The Principle Of Population (1798 1st edition, plus excerpts 1803 2nd edition), Introduction by Philip Appleman, and assorted commentary on Malthus edited by Appleman. Norton Critical Editons. ISBN 0-393-09202-X
- Malthus, Founder of Modern Demography (1979, 1999) William Peterson. ISBN 0-7658-0481-6
- Online chapter MALTHUS AND THE EVOLUTIONISTS:THE COMMON CONTEXT OF BIOLOGICAL AND SOCIAL THEORY from Darwin's Metaphor: Nature's Place in Victorian Culture by Professor Robert M. Young (1985, 1988, 1994). Cambridge University Press.
Anthony Flew (also known as Antony Flew) (born February 11, 1923) is a British philosopher, known as a supporter of libertarianism and a past supporter of atheism. ...
Philip D. Appleman (born 1926) is an American poet. ...
External links - An Essay on the Principle of Population, 1st edition, 1798. Library of Economics and Liberty. Free online, full-text searchable.
- An Essay on the Principle of Population, 6th edition, 1826. Library of Economics and Liberty. Free online, full-text searchable. Malthus published a major revision to his first edition--his second edition--in 1803. His 6th edition, published 1826, and revising his various 2nd-5th editions, became his widely-cited 6th and final revision.
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