Malthusian Population Theory

Topic Content:

The Malthusian population theory is the outcome of an essay titled “An Essay on the Principle of Population” written in 1798 by Reverend Thomas Robert Malthus (February 1766 – 23 December 1834), an Anglican clergyman, and a well-known political economist.

The essay he wrote was influenced greatly by the rate at which the population in Europe at that time was growing at a very fast rate.

The Main Features of Malthusian Theory:

The main views or features of Malthusian theory about population are:

1. That population was growing in a geometric progression such as 2, 4, 8, 16, 32, etc. while food production or supply was growing at an arithmetic progression such as 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, etc. It means that the population doubles every 25 years.

2. That there is a tendency for the population to grow beyond the food available to them.

3. Population always increases when the means of subsistence increase, unless prevented by some powerful checks.

4. That there are two types of checks which