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Thomas Malthus

THOMAS MALTHUS

1766 - 1834

In 1798 an unknown Englishman named Thomas Robert Malthus published a short but highly influential book called (An Essay on the Principle of Population and its Effect on the Future and the Plurality of Society). The main theme of Malthus's research was the idea of ​​the population dominating the growth and production of food in the world, and Malthus presented this idea in a somewhat harsh manner, and he says that the population is increasing in a geometric sequence, i.e. (1, 2, 4, etc.) while supplies and food are in The world is increasing in an arithmetic sequence (1, 2, 3, 4,005, etc.) and it has been concluded that humans will live in poverty and misery and approach starvation. The population explosion is much greater than the Earth's ability to produce what fills the human diet.

But can't that population explosion be stopped in one way or another? Indeed, it is possible. War, epidemics and other diseases often reduced the population, but this whip that was imposed on human necks proved to be a temporary means to save the population in an unwanted way.

Malthus suggested the use of (moral inhibition) such as delaying the age of marriage, reluctance to marry, and avoiding frequent sexual contacts, but it was practical, and he predicted that most people would not practice these means, so he concluded that the population explosion is a necessary evil, and that poverty is the fate of these people, and by reason of the conclusion pessimistic!

And with the idea is the idea of ​​prevention. Malthus did not introduce the idea of ​​contraception, as this is a natural result of his basic ideas, and the first person to introduce pregnancy was the famous British reformer Francis Place (1771.1854) who had read Malthus's article and was greatly influenced by it, then wrote a book in 1822 and advised the use of Contraceptive . He also spread propaganda among the working class to reduce birth control.

The teachings of Malthus had an impact on economic theories, as economists concluded that in normal cases, the increase in the number of the population prevents the increase in wages. The famous British economist (David Ricardo) (and he was a personal friend of Malthus) stated that the value of work is: That value that is necessary to enable workers to live in dignity so that the human race continues to exist without increase or decrease.

This theory is often referred to as the “iron law of wages” and was rejected by Karl Marx and became a dangerous element in the hostility to his theory (the virtue of value).

Malthus's views also influenced the study of life science. Darwin mentioned that he had read Malthus' "Essay on the Principle of Population," and this principle provided him with an important link in his theory of evolution and natural selection. Malthus was born in 1766 near the city of Dorking in the county of Surrey in Britain. Jesus graduated from the University of Cambridge in 1788 as an Anglican priest in the same year.

The first edition of his famous book was published without mentioning the author's name, but the book spread quickly and brought him fame, so he published a detailed edition of the article after five years, then the book was reprinted several times after adding notes and additions. The sixth edition appeared in 1826.

Malthus married in 1804 at the age of 38. He wrote several other books on economics at the end of his life, the most important of which is the book (Principles of Political Economy), which influenced the famous economist of the twentieth century, John Maynard Keynes, and at the end of his life he received a great deal of honor. He died in 1834 at the age of sixty-eight, near Bath, England.