Böcker av Thomas Malthus

The book An Essay on the Principle of Population was first published anonymously in 1798,[1] but the author was soon identified as Thomas Robert Malthus. The book predicted a grim future, as population would increase geometrically, doubling every 25 years,[2] but food production would only grow arithmetically, which would result in famine and starvation, unless births were controlled.While it was not the first book on population, it was revised for over 28 years and has been acknowledged as the most influential work of its era. Malthus's book fuelled debate about the size of the population in the Kingdom of Great Britain and contributed to the passing of the Census Act 1800. This Act enabled the holding of a national census in England, Wales and Scotland, starting in 1801 and continuing every ten years to the present. The book's 6th edition (1826) was independently cited as a key influence by both Charles Darwin and Alfred Russel Wallace in developing the theory of natural selection. A key portion of the book was dedicated to what is now known as Malthus' Iron Law of Population. This name itself is retrospective, based on the iron law of wages, which is the reformulation of Malthus' position by Ferdinand Lassalle, who in turn derived the name from Goethe's "great, eternal iron laws" in Das Göttliche.[3] This theory suggested that growing population rates would contribute to a rising supply of labour that would inevitably lower wages. In essence, Malthus feared that continued population growth would lend itself to poverty and famine.

Thomas Malthus was a mild-mannered economist who set the world afire in 1798 with this essay on the 'principle of population.' Prompted to put his thoughts down on paper in response to a work by William Godwin ("Avarice and Profusion") and other writers, such as Marquis de Condorcet and Adam Smith, the book was originally published anonymously... and for good reason. Malthus understood that the implications of his 'principle' did not align well with Christian charity.Charles Darwin would eventually seize upon the 'population principle,' where strife surrounds humanity's quest for scarce natural resources, as the actual mechanism by which life emerged in the first place, through natural selection. Now imbued with the certainty of science, Malthus' principle combined with Darwin's insight, was begging for application to human society. The application most commonly is called 'eugenics.' However, other applications exist, too, such as 'population control.'This is the original 1798 edition. In later editions, Malthus would spend a great deal of time clarifying his position and defending himself against critics. It was one of these later editions that Darwin was influenced by. Still, it is always interesting to hear the argument as it was first proposed. This edition also includes the essay by Godwin that first moved Malthus to write his book.

Malthus' life's work on human population and its dependency on food production and the environment was highly controversial on publication in 1798. He predicted what is known as the Malthusian catastrophe, in which humans would disregard the limits of natural resources and the world would be plagued by famine and disease. He significantly influenced the thinking of Darwin and Alfred Russel Wallace and his theories continue to raise important questions today in the fields of social theory, economics and the environment.With an introduction by Robert Mayhew.

Malthus''s Essay looks at the perennial tendency of humans to outstrip their resources: reproduction always exceeds food production. Today Malthus remains a byword for concern about man''s demographic and ecological prospects. ABOUT THE SERIES: For over 100 years Oxford World''s Classics has made available the widest range of literature from around the globe. Each affordable volume reflects Oxford''s commitment to scholarship, providing the most accurate text plus a wealth of other valuable features, including expert introductions by leading authorities, helpful notes to clarify the text, up-to-date bibliographies for further study, and much more.