The Malthusian Theory Analysis

Through the dissection of Han, the author argues that Han is not and by no means should be treated as an ethnic identity, though the PRC government has intentionally bundled the two up. The paper further explains that Han does not qualify as an ethnic group because an ethnic group usually possesses its own language and a sense of uniqueness which distinguishes itself from other ethnicities, while ‘Hanzu’ in fact comprises diverse vernacular languages and has deep subdivisions concerning ethnic recognition. Instead, in the author’s view, Han is a “an artificial super-ethnicity” made up of a collection of real ethnic groups.

Such viewpoints remind me of the methodology that political scientist Benedict Anderson adopted in Imagined Communities

This theory postulates two fixed premises, that the capacity of food supply is finite and that human reproduction is uncontrollable without checks (Abramitzky and Braggion 2005). Malthus further developed the core theory that uncontrolled population growth always outruns nature’s ability of provision, because the former increases geometrically while the latter increases arithmetically (George 2006). Thus, Malthus concluded that it is necessary to call for preventive checks (moral restraints such as sterilisation) and positive checks (restraint through mortality by natural or human catastrophes) to control overpopulation (Gunn MacRae 2015), thereby solving the ultimate problem: the vicious circle of poverty—the more poor people, the poorer they are.
First published in 1798, Malthus’s theory of population received widespread recognition by economists. His theory was integrated into the theoretical systems of economics and exerted an immediate and great impact on British social policy. Malthusian iron law not only stood as a universally accepted truth in the intellectual world, but was also held by people who have never heard of it through the implementation of policies going by this principle (George 2006), as a result of its implied solution to

One fundamental criticism is that he failed to anticipate the social and technological revolution, and to examine his premises and logic by taking real factors into account. In consideration of the comprehensive modern development and the transformation of marital relationship today, it is obvious that Malthus’s theory is based on outdated social settings, despite that it is still applicable in some underdeveloped countries.
The paper focuses on discussing the major reasons that influence modern Japanese women’s attitudes towards marriage. The writer not only displays gender inequality in the still patriarchal society, but goes further to unveil Japanese women’s self-conflicted mindsets when confronted with this traditional paradigm. It is a valuable revelation because the desire for hypergamy of these women who meanwhile pursue equality implies that they still place themselves in a subordinate position in