Thomas Malthus theory
Today while reading news, one thing got my attention is "Thomas Malthus theory", one politician from Indian ruling party Congress's issues some global wide food shortage warning. Since they are famous for negative propaganda, I didn't give much importance to it, but he mentioned something about Thomas Malthus theory, that increased my curiosity and did a little research.
Thomas Malthus is an economist lived in early 19th century, wrote six editions of An Essay on the Principle of Population, mainly to focus on population growth that leads to lower wages and finally to prolong poverty. His view was very pessimistic but that leads or accelerated to Britain passed Census Act 1800, to keep check population growth for every 10 years. Now all countries has the similar law. His first edition was published on 1798 and second edition on 1830, almost 32 years after mainly to answer his first edition's criticism from noble economists.
The core of his pessimistic view as follows.
"The way in which, these effects are produced seems to be this. We will suppose the means of subsistence in any country just equal to the easy support of its inhabitants. The constant effort towards population... increases the number of people before the means of subsistence are increased. The food therefore which before supported seven millions must now be divided among seven millions and a half or eight millions. The poor consequently must live much worse, and many of them be reduced to severe distress. The number of labourers also being above the proportion of the work in the market, the price of labour must tend toward a decrease, while the price of provisions would at the same time tend to rise. The labourer therefore must work harder to earn the same as he did before. During this season of distress, the discouragements to marriage, and the difficulty of rearing a family are so great that population is at a stand. In the mean time the cheapness of labour, the plenty of labourers, and the necessity of an increased industry amongst them, encourage cultivators to employ more labour upon their land, to turn up fresh soil, and to manure and improve more completely what is already in tillage, till ultimately the means of subsistence become in the same proportion to the population as at the period from which we set out. The situation of the labourer being then again tolerably comfortable, the restraints to population are in some degree loosened, and the same retrograde and progressive movements with respect to happiness are repeated."
To give mathematical view of his theory, population growth will increase at geometric rate (1,2,4,8,16....) where food growth increase at arithmetic(1,2,3,4,5...) .
But we can completely reject his views now since our food increase is outpaced population increase and his views are mainly focused on early 19th century state. Now with this advanced technology and green revolution we can feed all human as well as coming generation. His views are targeted at one segment of people, that is, poor people. Somehow he hated them or fear that they might steal his( or his grandchildren) share of pie in future.
Thomas Malthus is an economist lived in early 19th century, wrote six editions of An Essay on the Principle of Population, mainly to focus on population growth that leads to lower wages and finally to prolong poverty. His view was very pessimistic but that leads or accelerated to Britain passed Census Act 1800, to keep check population growth for every 10 years. Now all countries has the similar law. His first edition was published on 1798 and second edition on 1830, almost 32 years after mainly to answer his first edition's criticism from noble economists.
The core of his pessimistic view as follows.
"The way in which, these effects are produced seems to be this. We will suppose the means of subsistence in any country just equal to the easy support of its inhabitants. The constant effort towards population... increases the number of people before the means of subsistence are increased. The food therefore which before supported seven millions must now be divided among seven millions and a half or eight millions. The poor consequently must live much worse, and many of them be reduced to severe distress. The number of labourers also being above the proportion of the work in the market, the price of labour must tend toward a decrease, while the price of provisions would at the same time tend to rise. The labourer therefore must work harder to earn the same as he did before. During this season of distress, the discouragements to marriage, and the difficulty of rearing a family are so great that population is at a stand. In the mean time the cheapness of labour, the plenty of labourers, and the necessity of an increased industry amongst them, encourage cultivators to employ more labour upon their land, to turn up fresh soil, and to manure and improve more completely what is already in tillage, till ultimately the means of subsistence become in the same proportion to the population as at the period from which we set out. The situation of the labourer being then again tolerably comfortable, the restraints to population are in some degree loosened, and the same retrograde and progressive movements with respect to happiness are repeated."
To give mathematical view of his theory, population growth will increase at geometric rate (1,2,4,8,16....) where food growth increase at arithmetic(1,2,3,4,5...) .
But we can completely reject his views now since our food increase is outpaced population increase and his views are mainly focused on early 19th century state. Now with this advanced technology and green revolution we can feed all human as well as coming generation. His views are targeted at one segment of people, that is, poor people. Somehow he hated them or fear that they might steal his( or his grandchildren) share of pie in future.
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