Thomas Malthus's Essay On The Principle Of Population Theory

Thomas Robert Malthus was an English scholar who is best known for his principle of population theory which he published in a book called An Essay on the Principle of Population, first published in 1798 but later revised seven times, with the last edition appearing in 1830. The essay was written at a time when England was undergoing a change in its food production and consumption. As the population had been increasing, they had had to start importing food to some degree, though previously they had been almost completely self-sufficient. This led to an increase in food prices. Though this was the main impetus for Malthus to write his essay, there were a few other reasons also. For one, England had begun urbanization and towns were springing up quickly. This provided a stark comparison between the poor and the rich and showed Malthus how poor the lowest-income class really was, and how entrenched in misery and vice. His

It led to a greater general interest in demography and paved the way for economic policies and theories that stemmed from it. For example, it had a huge influence on the way the poor people were viewed and treated within the economy. Malthus had pointed out how a further increase in population would lead to our extinction as food supplies dwindled and proved unable to keep up. This meant that the population should be kept stable and not be allowed to grow more. A problem area identified was the welfare of the poor. Later thinkers and economists saw that if the welfare of the poor was increased and they began receiving more wages and health benefits, their growth rate also increased. This lead to an increase in population, which would result in a larger lower-income class and hence, the initial welfare would be rendered purposeless. This was called the wages fund