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- <td BGCOLOR="#C0C0C0"><blockquote>
- <blockquote><blockquote>
- <font face="verdana, arial, helvetica, sans serif"
- size="-1">Thomas Robert Malthus (1766-1834) <br>
- British economist, minister, teacher<br>
- <br>
- <b>An Essay on the Principle of Population, as it affects the Future
- Improvement of Society, with Remarks on the Speculations of Mr
- Godwin, M. Condorcet and Other Writers</b> (1798)<br>
- <br>
- <b>Observations on the Effects of the Corn Laws, and of a rise or
- fall in the price of corn on the agriculture and general wealth of
- the country</b> (1814) (see <a href="Corn_Laws.html">Corn Laws</a>)<br>
- <br>
- <b>Definitions in Political economy: Preceded by an inquiry into the rules which ought to guide political economists in the definition and use of their terms; with remarks on the derivation from these rules in their writings</b> (1827)<br>
- <br>
- <b>A Summary View of the Principle of Population</b> (1830)<br><font face="verdana, arial, helvetica, sans serif"
- size="-1"><br>
- </font><b><font size="2" face="Tahoma">Principles of Political
- Economy: Considered with a View to their Practical Application</font></b>
- (1820)</p>
- </blockquote></blockquote>
- </blockquote>
- </font>
- </td>
- </tr>
- <tr>
- <td><blockquote><blockquote><blockquote>
- <blockquote>
- <p><font face="verdana, arial, helvetica, sans serif" size="-1"><br>
- The
- first edition of <i>Principles of Political Economy: Considered with a
- View to their Practical Application </i>appeared in 1820, seven years
- later Malthus followed it with <i>Definitions in Political Economy</i>.
- While he is best known for his theory of population and the supply of
- sustenance, his works on the economic system and its functioning is
- closely related. </font></p>
- <p><font face="verdana, arial, helvetica, sans serif" size="-1">
- <a href="pictures/Malthus/malthus.jpg">
- <img border="0" src="pictures/Malthus/malthus_w.jpg" width="247" height="350" align="left" hspace="6"></a>During
- this time in England and, for that matter, the world, the entire system
- of economic exchange and balance had been revolutionized by the
- industrial revolution, colonialism, the steam engine, and urbanization.
- The economy was no longer localized; it was well on its way to
- globalization. The Corn Laws, first passed in England in 1804 and
- subsequently revised numerous times, created a micro- macro- economic
- case study about which Malthus and others could argue and observe.
- In his <i>Observations on the Effects of the Corn Laws </i>(see below
- for text) Malthus argues with Smith's position concerning the effects of
- the laws, labor costs, and trade.</font></p>
- <p><font face="verdana, arial, helvetica, sans serif" size="-1">Malthus
- was trained as a minister, but spent his career as Professor of Modern
- History and Political Economy at the East India College in Haileybury.
- According to Malthus, population is kept in balance either by
- devastation or self-interest. If the poor are allowed to reach a
- higher standard of living, they will restrain population growth to
- become upwardly mobile and to have enough to provide a similar
- opportunity for their children. This was radical thought in the
- early 1800's. Many preferred to allow the "natural" course of
- starvation and illness to weed out the population, agreeing with Malthus'
- pessimistic view that the poor would be unable to exercise
- self-restraint. They also liked Malthus' view that helping the
- poor only took resources from those who would make better use of them.
- So, on the one hand, Malthus was in favor of creating an economy to
- allow the poor to better themselves and at the same time against the
- "helping hand". </font></p>
- <p><font face="verdana, arial, helvetica, sans serif" size="-1">
- Theoretical criticisms came from people like Everett and Godwin, among
- others. Everett questioned the geometric progression as a model
- for population growth. Full text from both authors is available
- below.</font></p>
- <p><font face="verdana, arial, helvetica, sans serif" size="-1">The
- theoretical arguments concerning the economy by Malthus, Ricardo, Smith,
- and others both described the rise of the mercantile economy and helped
- to mold and shape it. The various roles of government, banking,
- money, property and capital were defined and created the system we live
- with today.<br>
- </font></p>
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- </tr>
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- <font face="verdana, arial, helvetica, sans serif" size="-1" color="#FFFFFF">
- The enlargements of the document are sufficient for easy reading
- -- they will be a slow download on a modem. The
- photographs of Principles of Political Economy
- may be used freely on non-commercial sites (no
- advertisements) and for educational purposes. Please
- link to this site for the copyright.</font></td>
- </tr>
- </table>
- </div>
- <p><font face="verdana, arial, helvetica, sans serif"
- size="-1">
- Quotations:</font></p>
- <p><font face="verdana, arial, helvetica, sans serif" size="-1">
- Population, when unchecked, increases in a geometrical ratio.
- Subsistence increases only in an arithmetical ratio. A slight
- acquaintance with numbers will show the immensity of the first power in
- comparison of the second. (<i>An Essay on the Principle of
- Population</i>, 1798)</font></p>
- <p><font face="verdana, arial, helvetica, sans serif" size="-1">The
- number of labourers also being above the proportion of work in the
- market, the price of labor must tend towards a decrease; while the price
- of provisions would at the same time tend to rise. (<i>An Essay on
- the Principle of Population</i>, 1798)</font></p>
- <p><font face="verdana, arial, helvetica, sans serif" size="-1">To state
- these facts is not to favour taxes; but to give one of the strongest
- reasons against them; namely, that they are not only a great evil on
- their first imposition, but that the attempt to get rid of them
- afterwards, is often attended with fresh suffering. (<i>Principles
- of Political Economy</i>, Section X, On the Immediate Causes of the
- Progress of Wealth, 1820)<br>
- <br>
- </font></p>
- </blockquote>
- </td>
- </tr>
- <tr>
- <td BGCOLOR="#C0C0C0"><blockquote>
- <blockquote><font face="verdana, arial, helvetica, sans serif"
- size="-1"><b>Further
- Resources:</b><br>
- <br>
- <b>Works by Thomas Robert, Malthus (1766-1834)</b><br>
- <br>
- <a href="http://www.gutenberg.org/etext/4239">An Essay on the
- Principle of Population</a> (1798) from Project
- Gutenberg</font><p>
- <font face="verdana, arial, helvetica, sans serif"
- size="-1"><a href="http://www.econlib.org/library/Malthus/malPop.html">An Essay
- on the Principle of Population</a> as It Affects the Future
- Improvement of Society, with Remarks on the Speculations of Mr.
- Godwin, M. Condorcet, and Other Writers. London: J. Johnson,
- 1798. <b>First edition</b>. from The Library of Economics and
- Liberty<br>
- <br>
- <a href="http://www.econlib.org/library/Malthus/malPlong.html">An
- Essay on the Principle of Population</a>: A View of its Past and
- Present Effects on Human Happiness; with an Inquiry into Our
- Prospects Respecting the Future Removal or Mitigation of the Evils
- which It Occasions<br>
- Published: London: John Murray, 1826. <b>Sixth edition</b>.
- First published: 1798. from The Library of Economics and
- Liberty<br>
- <br>
- <a href="http://www.gutenberg.org/etext/4334">Observations on the
- Effects of the Corn Laws, and of a Rise or Fall in the Price of Corn
- on the Agriculture and General Wealth of the Country</a> (1814) from Project
- Gutenberg<br>
- <br>
- <a href="http://www.gutenberg.org/etext/4335">The Grounds of an
- Opinion on the Policy of Restricting the Importation of Foreign Corn</a>:
- intended as an appendix to "Observations on the corn laws" from Project
- Gutenberg<br>
- <br>
- <br>
- <b>19th Century works concerning Malthus:</b></font></p>
- <p><font face="verdana, arial, helvetica, sans serif" size="-1">
- <a href="http://cdl.library.cornell.edu/cgi-bin/moa/moa-cgi?notisid=ABQ7578-0015-17">
- Godwin on Malthus</a>. <i>The North American review</i>. Volume 15,
- Issue 37. Cedar Falls, Iowa: University of Northern
- Iowa. October 1822, pp. 289-319. from Cornell University
- Library.<br>
- <br>
- <a href="http://cdl.library.cornell.edu/cgi-bin/moa/moa-cgi?notisid=ABQ0722-0042-106">
- The Method of Political Economy, by D. McG. Means</a>. <i>New
- Englander and Yale review</i>. Volume 42, Issue 177. New
- Haven: W. L. Kingsley, pp. 801-820. from Cornell
- University Library.<br>
- <br>
- <a href="http://www.marxists.org/reference/subject/economics/say/">
- Letters to Malthus on Political Economy and Stagnation of Commerce</a>
- HTML by Andy Blunden at McMaster University<br>
- <br>
- <a href="http://cdl.library.cornell.edu/cgi-bin/moa/moa-cgi?notisid=AGD1642-0017-66">
- The Malthusian Theory</a> - Discussed in a Correspondence between
- Alex H. Everett and Professor George Tucker, of the University of
- Virginia. <i>The United States Democratic review</i>. Volume
- 17, Issue 88. October 1845. New York: J.& H.G.
- Langley, pp. 297-310<br>
- <br>
- <a href="http://cdl.library.cornell.edu/cgi-bin/moa/moa-cgi?notisid=AGD1642-0017-81">
- The Malthusian Theory</a> - Discussed in a Correspondence between
- Alex H. Everett and Professor George Tucker, of the University of
- Virginia. <i>The United States Democratic review</i>. Volume
- 17, Issue 89. November 1845. New York: J.& H.G.
- Langley, pp. 379-392<br>
- <br>
- Everett, A. H.
- <a href="http://cdl.library.cornell.edu/cgi-bin/moa/moa-cgi?notisid=ABQ7578-0017-19">"Everett's
- New Ideas on Population"</a>, <i>The North American review</i>.
- Volume 17, Issue 41 Cedar Falls, Iowa: University of
- Northern Iowa, October 1823, pp. 288-310. From Cornell
- University Library Collection. A critique of Malthus' ideas on
- population by a contemporary. It's worth reading just for the
- language.</font></p>
- <blockquote>
- <p>
- <font face="verdana, arial, helvetica, sans serif"
- size="-1">From 1830 to 1835 Everett edited <i>The North American review</i>.
- Everett became a diplomat to China and continued his interest in
- population and Malthus' theory. He died in Canton in 1847.</font></p>
- </blockquote>
- <p>
- <font face="verdana, arial, helvetica, sans serif" size="-1">
- <a href="http://cdl.library.cornell.edu/cgi-bin/moa/moa-cgi?notisid=AGD1642-0021-125">
- "The Condition of China, with Reference to the Malthusian Theory, as
- Discussed in Correspondence between Alex H. Everett and Prof. Geo
- Tucker, Late of the University of Virginia"</a>, <i>The United
- States Democratic review.</i> Volume 21, Issue 113 New
- York: J.& H.G. Langley, pp. 397-411.<br>
- <br>
- <a href="http://cdl.library.cornell.edu/cgi-bin/moa/moa-cgi?notisid=AGD1642-0022-4">
- "The Condition of China; with Reference to the Malthusian Theory, in
- Reply to the Late Hon. A. H. Everett, U. S. Minister to China, by
- Prof. George Tucker, Late of the University of Virginia"</a>,<i> The
- United States Democratic review.</i> Volume 22, Issue 115
- New York: J.& H.G. Langley, pp. 11-18.</font></p>
- <p>
- <font face="verdana, arial, helvetica, sans serif" size="-1">Review
- of "<a href="http://cdl.library.cornell.edu/cgi-bin/moa/moa-cgi?notisid=ABQ7578-0001-72">Observations
- on the effects of the Corn Laws... by Rev. T. R. Malthus</a>"
- <i>The North American review</i>. Volume 1, Issue 2. Cedar
- Falls, Iowa: University of Northern Iowa, July 1815, pp. 214-234.
- from Cornell University Library.</font></p>
- <p>
- <font face="verdana, arial, helvetica, sans serif"
- size="-1"><b>Modern works concerning Malthus:</b><br><br>
- <a href="http://www.boisestate.edu/econ/lreynol/web/PDF_HET/CLSCAL.pdf">
- CLASSICAL SCHOOL OF ECONOMICS (1776-1871): AN OUTLINE</a>.
- by R. Larry Reynolds, Boise State University. An overview of
- the major economic theories in .pdf format, right-click to download.
- <br>
- <br>
- <a href="http://www.mdx.ac.uk/www/study/SHE7.htm">Wealth and
- Poverty: Malthus And Ricardo</a>. by Andrew Roberts, Middlesex
- University<br>
- <br>
- <a href="http://www.americanscientist.org/template/AssetDetail/assetid/28472">
- 1798: Darwin and Malthus</a> by Keith Stewart Thomson, in the <i>
- American Scientist. </i>Paper showing the influence of Malthus'
- theory on Darwin.<br>
- <br>
- <a href="http://www.economics.unimelb.edu.au/TLdevelopment/econochat/Dixonecon00.html">
- The Origin of the Term "Dismal Science" to Describe Economics</a> by
- Robert Dixon at The University of Melbourne. Discusses Carlye
- and Malthus.<br><br><br>
- <br><br> (c) Marilyn Shea, 2006<br> <br>
- </font></p>
- </blockquote>
- </blockquote></td>
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