11 Facts About Malthusianism

Malthusianism is the idea that population growth is potentially exponential while the growth of the food supply or other resources is linear, which eventually reduces living standards to the point of triggering a population die off.

Malthusianism has been linked to a variety of political and social movements, but almost always refers to advocates of population control.

Neo-Malthusianism is the advocacy of human population planning to ensure resources and environmental integrities for current and future human populations as well as for other species.

Malthusianism has attracted criticism from diverse schools of thought, including Georgists, Marxists and socialists, libertarians and free market enthusiasts, feminists and human rights advocates, characterising it as excessively pessimistic, misanthropic or inhuman.

Many critics believe Malthusianism has been discredited since the publication of Principle of Population, often citing advances in agricultural techniques and modern reductions in human fertility.

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Malthusianism argued that although human populations tend to increase, the happiness of a nation requires a like increase in food production.

One proponent of Malthusianism was the novelist Harriet Martineau whose circle of acquaintances included Charles Darwin, and the ideas of Malthus were a significant influence on the inception of Darwin's theory of evolution.

Proponents of Malthusianism were in turn influenced by Darwin's ideas, both schools coming to influence the field of eugenics.

Malthusianism became a less common intellectual tradition as the 19th century advanced, mostly as a result of technological increases, the opening of new territory to agriculture, and increasing international trade.

Malthusianism found short lifespans that he attributed to chronic malnourishment which left people susceptible to disease.

Malthusianism opposed coercive measures postulated by neo-malthusian movements of his time arguing that their cost will fall disproportionately on the low-income population who are struggling already.