What Is Malthus's Theory Of Population Growth?

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Thomas Robert Malthus, the founder of modern demography is recognized in many global spheres. He studied demographic trends and limitations from the middle of the 18th to the 19th century where the population rose to 1 billion people in 1804 (“PopulationMatters.org”). However, according to the World Population Clock, the current number is over 7.6 billion people. With increasing population, Malthus’s theory stating that “the power of population is indefinitely greater than the power in the earth to produce subsistence for man” (Malthus, 1798,p.4) becomes vital in today’s context too. While Malthus suggests certain preventative and positive checks assuring the efficient management of our food sources, in today’s context, other forms of checks and balances are still discussed. This is why I chose Malthus as this paper’s focus; his theories on population growth are still applicable to present-day problems.…show more content…
Increasing resources to take care of individual’s needs will increase levels of production, thus risking environmental and poverty stability levels. It is this vicious cycle that is present in many highly populated countries to this day. Turning to the paper, this analysis will take the following form: by starting off with individuals who motivated or influenced Malthus into beginning his personal journey to explore demographic patterns, one will understand the origins of Malthus’s work. Second, I will explore what personal and historical events have had an overall impact on his work. Then I will tie his findings to the notion of colonization. The last section will turn to his legacy, and how his findings have been interpreted, received, and
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