Malthusian Population Theory Summary

Thomas R. Malthus was an economist who lived from 1766 to 1834. He was the first economist to suggest a systematic theory of population. Malthus was raised in the thick of the world’s Industrial Revolution which began in Britain, Malthus’s home country, within the textile industry. This was a major turning point in history manufacturing will move from skilled craftsmen creating homemade goods to machine production in factories. This increase in efficiency lead to increases in the standard of living for the population of Earth consistently for the first time ever and was the basis for creating his theory of population.
What is known today as the Malthusian Theory of Population is comprised of a few written pieces by Malthus. Over time his …show more content…
The wealthy people were seen as the symbol of moral restraint because they practiced sexual abstinence and did not fall into the temptation of sin that led the poor to their own demise. The poor were looked down upon and Malthus proposed that the working class and most of the people on Earth’s suffering cannot be changed due to their immoral ways. The poor were believed to have taken advantage of the Poor Laws, a set of laws that the government gave to the parishes that gave them the responsibility of caring for the poor. The parishes were instructed to provide financial assistance to the poor when needed. The funds used to help the poor were raised through taxation of the upper and middle class. This caused tension between the classes because the wealthy believed their money was being given to lazy people essentially rewarding them for not working. This parish-provided assistance money was also thought to be encouraging people to have many children that the Earth and the parents couldn't afford because the church would pay for them to be raised. This proves Malthus’s point that when income or resources are available people will continue reproducing until the resources are exhausted. Malthus’s ideas for the most part still apply to the present day. His unsatisfiable desire for sexual pleasure among the poor idea is very relevant in nations such as India with a very low standard of living, poverty and famine. Despite these poor conditions the nation still has the highest birthrate in the world and is the second most populated nation in the world containing around 1.3 billion people. Another issue stemming from the Poor Laws was that worker’s wages were kept very low because employers knew that whatever money they didn't pay the worker would be supplemented by the parish.