by: Clarissa Gomez, Cynthia Rodriguez, Kimberly Tice, Patricia Cobos

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by Clarissa Gomez, Cynthia Rodriguez,
Kimberly Tice, Patricia Cobos
Thomas Malthus
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His Times

• Thomas Robert Malthus
• Handsome, high forehead, short hair, sharp eyes
• Born Feb. 13, 1766 in Dorking, Surrey (England)
• Second son of eight children
• Father-Daniel Malthus

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As A Young Man

• Enjoyed chess
• Attended Warrington Academy and in 1784 entered
  Jesus College
• Tutored by Richard Graves, Gilbert Wakefield,
  William Frend
• Graduated with honors in mathematics

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As Grown Man

• 1803 married his cousin, Harriet Eckersall had
  three children
• 1805 was appointed professor of history
  political economy in East India College
• Represented the first professorship in political
  economy established in Britain

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Participation in Organizations

• 1821 became a member of the Political Economy
  Club
• 1824 was elected one of ten royal associates of
  the Royal Academy of Literature
• 1834 was the first member in the Statistical
  Society
• Member of the French Institute Royal Academy in
  Berlin

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His Major Works

• The Crisis
• Essay on the Principle of Population
• Investigation of the Cause of the Present High
  Price of Provisions
• Second Essay on the Principle of Population

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Major Works (cont)

• Observations on the Effects of the Corn Laws and
  of a rise or fall in the price of corn on the
  agriculture and general wealth of the country
• An Inquiry into the Nature and Progress of Rent,
  and the principles by which it is regulated
• The Grounds of an Opinion on the Policy of
  Restricting the Importation of Foreign Corn

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Essay on Population

• An analysis of the nature and causes of poverty
• A response to the writers who were expressing
  optimism and faith in the nature of man
• Controvert the notions of human perfectibility
• Purpose to explode such notions based on the
  inevitable scarcity resulting of human population

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Hypothesis and Predications

• Population growth always exceeds the growth of
  means of subsistence
• Actual population always has a tendency to push
  above the food supply
• Population growth would come to a standstill
• Postulated war, pestilence, famine, plague
  would operate as checks of a swelling population

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Description of the Essay

• Deals with emotional topics such as welfare,
  infanticide, and faith
• Societys ability to produce children outstrip
  our ability to provide energy for their survival
• Regards to the future of human societies
• Argued that once the poor had a taste of luxury,
  they would demand a higher standard of living
  before starting a family

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Description (cont.)

• Argued perfectibility of society will always be
  out of reach
• States he doesnt hate the poor, but considers
  them mentally unfit
• Doesnt advocate sexual abstinence as a solution
  to the population crisis
• Criticized use of birth control
• Believed sexuality outside of marriage was evil

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The Core Principles of Malthus

• 1. Food is necessary for human existence
• 2. Human population tends to grow faster than the
  power in the earth to produce subsistence
• 3.Effects of these two unequal powers must be
  kept equal
• 4.Population reduction tends to be accomplished
  through the positive checks of famine, disease,
  poverty, and war

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Controversial Sides of Malthus

• Attacks the Poor Laws in Ch. V of the Essay, a
  decentralized system of poor relief in England
• Attacked the Poor Laws by saying they may
  alleviate short term suffering , but cause
  greater suffering in the end
• Declares the abolition of Poor Laws for the
  abolition of the National Health Service in
  Britain or the Social Security System in the
  United States

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Work Cited

• Donald Winch. Malthus. Oxford University Press,
  New York 1987, pp. 16-38
• J.Dupaquier. Malthus Past and Present. Academic
  Press, London 1983, pp. 85-97
• Thomas Robert Malthus. 1995. Victorian Web. 16
  Apr. 2002 lthttp//65.107.211.206/victorian/economi
  cs/malthus.html
• Peter Landry. Thomas Robert Malthus . April 2001.
  17. Apr. 2002 lthttp//cepa.newschool.edu/net/profi
  les/malthus.htm
• Ronald Bleier. The International Society of
  Malthus . 17 Apr. 2002 lt http//www.igc.apc.org/de
  sip/malthus/background.html gt