Malthus and his work

CHAP. I. FIRST THOUGHTS, 1798 1 „ II. SECOND THOUGHTS, 1803 45 „ III. THESES 60 „ IV. THE SAVAGE, BARBARIAN, AND ORIENTAL 85 „ V. NORTH AND MID EUROPE 119 „ VI. FRANCE 153 „ VII...

The Common Caricature—The Essay an Inquiry into the Poverty of Nations—Godwin’s _Political Justice_ and _Enquirer_—The Two Postulates and Conclusions from them—Condorcet’s _Sket...

Exaggerations of the First Essay—Its two Postulates not co-ordinate—Distinctive feature of the Second Essay—Its moderate Optimism—Rough Classification of Checks—Moral Restraint...

Position stated in the Essay—Tendency of Life to increase beyond Food—Problem not the same for Humanity as for the lower forms of Life—Man’s Dilemma—Tendency to increase not pre...

Simile supplanted by Fact—Savage Life—Population dependent not on possible but on actual Food—Indirect Action of Positive Checks—Hunger not a Principle of Progress—Otaheite a Cr...

Different Effects of Commercial Ambition in different Countries—No single safe Criterion of National Prosperity—Süssmilch’s “Divine Plan”—Malthus in the Region of Statistics—His...

French Numbers a Problem to Europe in 1802, because Law of Increase not understood—Effects of War—Lament for the unborn millions eighty years ago—More fitting now—Good Distribut...

Prevailing Checks—Proposed Census of 1753—Brown’s Estimate—Depopulation of England in Eighteenth Century—Opposing Arguments—Census of 1801—Interpretation of Returns—Relative Nat...

Need of an Economical Digression—The Hegemony of Adam Smith’s School—Cardinal Doctrines of the Malthusian Economy—Scope, Method, Details—Malthus doing Injustice to his Economics...

_Measure of Value_, 1823—In what sense Labour a Measure—Difficulties—Arguments of the Tract on Value—Measure in the same Country—Measure in different Countries—Measure at differ...

French War and English Trade—English Currency—Bullion Committee—Restriction not the only Cause of High Prices—Ricardo on Currency—Tooke on Prices—Say on Gluts—English Trade from...

Arrangement of the Essay—Nature’s Mighty Feast—Tract on _High Price of Provisions_—I cannot, therefore I ought not—Poor Laws condemned—Frederick the Great’s Army—Mitigation of B...

Cardinal Doctrines of the Malthusian Ethics—Application to Desire of Marriage—Place of Man on the Earth—Criticism of Moral Philosophy—Teleology and Utility—Benevolence and Self-...

Three Questions for the Critics—Parr and _Thoughts on Parr_—Pulpit Philosophy—Godwin’s Blessing in 1801—The Cursing in 1820—Theology—The Command to Noah—The Ratios—Population “f...

Parentage—Early Education—Graves and Wakefield—Course at Cambridge—Correspondence with his Father—Change in Studies—The _Crisis_ and the Curacy—Effect of the Essay on its Author...

Even Comte, who reproves economists for saying that difficulties right themselves in the “long run,” thinks that this particular difficulty will only occur _there_. (_Pos. Phil....

Cf. _Essay_, 2nd ed., p. 65; later editions, I. vi. (beginning), where he says that sloth is the natural state of man, and his activity is due in the first instance to the “stro...

MacCulloch (J. R.), editor of the _Commercial Dictionary_, and probably the original of Carlyle’s Macrowdy. No one could have a proper reverence for the Fathers of Political Eco...

We might expressly wish to know a coat’s value in money or its value in cutlery or coals. The Professor at the Breakfast-table talks of “Madeira worth from two to six Bibles a b...

_Essay on Population_, Appendix, p. 492. It was probably this disclaimer of public duty that led Coleridge to complain, “the entire tendency of the modern or Malthusian politica...