Re-Imagining the Population Debate

Thomas Malthus perspective on the population is no doubt the most elaborate as far of Population analysis is concerned. His insight on the correlation between population growth and resources available serves as the basis of population management worldwide. The ideas Thomas hypothesized in his essay on population have been applied immensely not only in academic disciplines but also in social policy making by providing remedies to problems associated with population growth.

He gave a wrong theory on the growth of population, which was quite soon replaced by a correct one by Verlhurst. But he is remembered till today, his name is known to all. Whereas nobody knows the name of Verlhurst, he is totally forgotten even among the academics. Earlier he was at least referred to in the textbooks on Degree Statistics. Now there also his theory is taught without a mention of his name. Hearing me say so, you may feel perplexed, or rather, may be shocked. “Is it really true? How can this happen? Surely there is some mystery behind this.” Yes, there is. In science sometimes even a wrong theory opens up a new lead in solving some long-unsolved enigma. Later this wrong theory is rejected, but the man who had propounded it and showed thereby a new vista is remembered as a contributor in the development of the theory. Let us take Berzelius, for instance, from the history of chemistry. He had suggested a wrong theory about the correlation of number of molecules of a gas ...

Hamilton Historical, 2023

Robert Malthus’ 1803 Essay perpetuated multiple political myths about indigenous peoples, not because Malthus had malicious intent to speak about these people negatively, but because his views aligned comfortably with his greater society in metropolitan England. Whether the myth at hand was indigenous indolence, infanticide, or cannibalism, Mathus unconsciously supported them in his aim to create a universal human history where population was the solely important variable, similar to how his contemporary stadial theorists wrote their histories. Because his sources on indigenous peoples were popular, accepted, and respected in his society, Malthus’ discourse on indigenous peoples did not divert from his society’s norm. While Reverend Thomas Robert Malthus’ An Essay on the Principle of Population is no longer a reputable work of demography, it instead offers insight into how English society around the turn of the nineteenth-century viewed far-off people who lived in distant worlds.

Australian Economic Papers, 1992

Research supported by SSHRCC and the University of Manitoba. The author is grateful to all who have made comments on previous drafts, especially Robert Dorfman, Samuel Hollander, Donald Winch and two anonymous referees. 203 204 AUSTRALIAN ECONOMIC PAPERS JUNE to grow. Arguments forged in the heat of polemic are tested by criticism. Those which prove robust may eventually count as 'contributions to knowledge'. The economic analysis of the Essay on Population is founded upon the famous 'ratios' of food and population growth. The 'ratios' imply diminishing returns, as Marshall (1920, p.179, n.1) maintained against Cannan (1903, p.144). Diminishing returns without a production function are like a grin without a cat. Given competitive factor pricingwhich Malthus accepteda diminishing-returns production function implies rent. Seventeen years after the First Essay Malthus (1815) was among those who discovered the relation between diminishing returns and rent. Samuelson (1947, pp.296-98) was the first to specify a Malthusian production function. Five years later Stigler (1952, p.190) showed that the ratios implied a logarithmic form of this function.

Evidence from Ancient texts and contemporary common sense defy our attitude towards overpopulation. Time to get our minds right over our numbers.

Throughout history geographers have tried to understand the connection between population dynamics and the environment. By analyzing this newspaper article by Hannah Waters, we are able to grasp the fundamental ideas of Paul Ehrlich as well as Julian Simon. Ehrlich had studied the population dynamics of butterflies for many years and believed that the human population was too large and would eventually eliminate the earth’s resources. However an economist by the name of Julian Simon would soon argue that humans are not the same as butterflies and that the market economy will prevent resource scarcity. Simon highlights that when a resource becomes rare it will also become costly, which will soon lead to the need of finding more of this resource or creating alternatives.

European Journal of the History of Economic Thought