Malthus Summary

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Malthus Summary Due: 9-15-11 An Essay on the Principle of Population was written by Thomas Robert Malthus in 1798. I recently read this essay, and although the wording is much different than I’m used to, I ascertained that Malthus had an abundance of free time to worry about his surroundings. In the reading, Malthus made one point that contributed to the problems he assumed were going to occur, and that is of increasing population. From my perspective, his theory is not all true, hence the word “theory.” He presumed that if the passion between men and women increased, so would the population. Along with that, he thought the increasing population would cause Earth to have a deficiency in the supplies needed to live. Malthus describes that plants and animals naturally dwindle, while humans naturally multiply, meaning that because marriage is a natural phenomenon on Earth, humans will naturally reproduce, contributing to the increase of population, and shifting the demand for food. In the excerpt, he also states that humans are restricted by misery and vice which results from this natural imbalance. Therefore, the common, or the poor would suffer when it comes to providing for their families. This ties in with what he mentions about the pay of farmers and how it is less than that of major corporation employees. He suggests that the poor work harder for their money that they barely survive on, and an increasing population would make them endure the misery even more. Malthus was blindsided by the fact that because humans naturally reproduce, they will naturally adjust to the changes around them. All in all, Robert Thomas Malthus’ theory was somewhat untrue, and did not support the facts of
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