Malthus
Achievements: Population/food link.
Born: February 14/17, 1766; near Guildford, Surrey, England
Died: December 23, 1834; near Bath, Somerset, England (Aged 68)
Field & Discipline: Economics; Demography
Education: Private tuition at home; Dissenting Academy, Warrington; Jesus College, Cambridge
Major Work: "Essay on the Principle of Population" (1803)
Life & Times:
Malthus's father, a scholar, was a friend of the French writer and educationist [father pal of] Rousseau*, and the sceptical philosopher [father pal of] Hume*. After graduation Malthus entered the church and he undertook pastoral duties as a curate in a rural area between1792-4.
His real interest, however, was in politics and economics, and in 1796 he wrote a pamphlet ("The Crisis") attacking the government of [attacked] Pitt*.
The French Revolution had stimulated debate about society and government, especially in the writings of radicals like [influenced by] Godwin* and the Utilitarian philosopher [influenced by] Jeremy Bentham*.
Malthus decided to clarify his own ideas and in 1798 he wrote the first edition of "An Essay on the Principle of Population as it affects the Future Improvement of Society, with Remarks on the Speculations of Mr Godwin, M. [wrote about] Condorcet* and other Writers.”
Malthus was more pragmatic than Bentham and Godwin and thought that their utopian ideal of prosperity and health for all was not possible because population increases would always be greater than increases in subsistence. As he himself acknowledged, Malthus was not the first to see a rise in the birth rate as potentially dangerous. Godwin, for example, had already said that an increase in the birth rate threatened his dream of universal prosperity and harmony.
Malthus was more abstract in his approach and he backed up his statement with his famous principle that population increases geometrically while subsistence increases only arithmetically.
The essay was published anonymously and was widely read and discussed. After talking with Godwin, Malthus realised he needed more information and decided to travel in order to research.
In 1799 he travelled with friends in Germany, Scandinavia and Russsia and in 1802 he visited France. In his anonymously published pamphlet "The Present High Price of Provisions" (1800) he pointed out that the price of grain rose when its cost was used as a guide to set poor relief; he also noted that the shortage of grain at a time when agricultural produced had not declined meant that the population had increased (supporting his theory that population figures will always more than keep up with subsistence supplies).
He was proved right in 1801 when the first census in Great Britain was carried out. Although he based his own arguments on an analysis of his data, Malthus did not analyse data from the censuses. But his work influenced the Belgian mathematician [influenced] Quetelet* did statistical studies on population growth. Malthus's population studies also formed a basis for later social innovations such as the introduction of the penny post by [work related to] Rowland Hill*.
An expanded edition of his "Essay on the Principle of Population,” this time published under his own name, came out in 1803. It provided the theoretical framework for his earlier conclusions and made use of the data he had collected on his travels, together with information from China and Japan.
Having stated that whenever food supplies are increased, the birth rate rises, he concluded that the birth rate must be kept down. Contraception was regarded by Malthus as a vice, so he proposed the concept of voluntary measures of restraint: late marriage and abstaining from sex before marriage. He was attacked by many, including the journalist [attacked by] Cobbett*, the essayist Hazlitt and the poet [attacked by] Coleridge*.
Malthus married in 1804 and in 1805 was made professor of history and political economy at Haileybury College, recently founded by the [worked for] East India Company*. This was the first time that the phrase “political economy” had been used in the description of an academic post. Malthus remained at Haileybury for the rest of his life.
In 1817 he published a fifth edition of his essay on population in which he discussed the views of the reforming manufacturer [a pal of] Robert Owen* with whom he was in friendly disagreement. In Malthus' opinion, Owen’s principles of equality and common property would lead to a decrease in food and consequent poverty and disease.
In 1820 Malthus published "Principles of Political Economy Considered with a View to Their Practical Application" in which he suggested the use of public works and private investment as remedies for shortfalls in the economy.
In 1819 he was elected a Fellow of the [fellow of] Royal Society* and in 1821 he was
invited to become a founder member of the Political Economy Club together with his friend [a pal of] Ricardo*. Ricardo accepted Malthus' theory of rent in most respects, but [attacked by] James Mill* attacked him, although his father [supported by] JS Mill* was a supporter.
His views on population and food supplies made a great impression on [impressed] Charles Darwin* when he was developing his theory of evolution. Malthus also influenced the early beginnings of socialism and in one of his last publications, "Summary View of the Principle of Population" (1830) he criticised the structure of contemporary society and the unequal distribution of wealth.
In 1834, with [collaborated with] Babbage* he was one of the founder members of the Statistical Society of London.
Extra Connections: [anticipated by] Baliani* and [anticipated by] Beccaria* prefigured his ideas on population.
Assessment: Best known for his population theory and its influence on Charles Darwin.
Oneliner: Robert Malthus, author on population & food supply
Bibliography:
- Dictionary of Scientific Biography.
- Encyclopedia Britannica.
- James, Patricia, Population Malthus, Routledge & Kegan Paul, London, Boston and Henley, 1979.
Language: English
Father: Daniel Malthus
Mother: Henrietta Catherine Graham
Siblings: 6
Spouse: Harriet Eckersall
Children: Henry; Emily; Lucy