an essay on the principle of population chapter 1 summary

• An Essay on the Principle of Population Summary

by Thomas Malthus

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Malthus observes that humans tend to like having sex, which means that inevitably (especially before modern contraceptives) humans would likely continue to make children at a constant rate. But since two people can have more than two children, and each of those children can have even more children, population growth is not arithmetical, but rather geometric.

What Malthus means by 'arithmetical' and 'geometric' is simply that some systems produce at the level of addition and subtraction, and other systems work differently. If it works by process of addition, it is arithmetical, and if it works by process of multiplication, such as population growth, it is geometric.

So Malthus concludes from that basic study of the systems of population growth that we can expect the population to double every 25 years. By the way, Malthus's mathematical analysis is understood by most people to be incorrect, but his idea is still powerful. Could humans populate at such a rate that eventually, we exhaust our resources, and what would happen if that were the case?

He then explains that he is not predicting a doomsday, or an apocalypse, but rather, that given our understanding of mathematics, humans should begin to consider their effect on the environment as an exponentially powerful animal, since our biological existence means that we must sustain ourselves by using natural resources.

Malthus continues by explaining that many of the variables in the sustainability question are fluid, such as the potential development of new technologies to advance agriculture and infrastructure. Instead of offering a creative solution, he leaves the question open for audience participation, because after all, we're all on the same planet, so overpopulation is a risk that could potentially effect the entire race if not treated with scientific attention.

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Study Guide for An Essay on the Principle of Population

An Essay on the Principle of Population study guide contains a biography of Thomas Malthus, literature essays, quiz questions, major themes, characters, and a full summary and analysis.

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An Essay on the Principle of Population essays are academic essays for citation. These papers were written primarily by students and provide critical analysis of An Essay on the Principle of Population by Thomas Malthus.

• Malthus and Darwin: A Study of Theories and Their Adaptation

Wikipedia Entries for An Essay on the Principle of Population

• Introduction
• Early life and education
• Population growth
• Travel and further career
• Malthus–Ricardo debate on political economy

An Essay on the Principle of Population

50 pages • 1 hour read

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Chapters 1-2

Chapters 3-5

Chapters 6-9

Chapters 10-15

Chapters 16-19

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Chapters 1-2 Chapter Summaries & Analyses

Chapter 1 summary.

An Essay on the Principle of Population begins with an appraisal of the technological discoveries that allowed for great societal changes in Malthus’s time. The pronounced advancements in the fields of natural philosophy, printing, and politics have encouraged a positive outlook on the perfectibility of humankind. Philosophers and other influential figures are fervently hooked to this topic: whereas some optimistically believe humankind may one day achieve perfection, others argue there is absolutely no escaping from “a perpetual oscillation between happiness and misery,” no matter how much growth is observed in society (1). Whereas conservative thinkers dismiss new ideas as “silly speculations,” progressives likewise believe their opponents profit too much from the abuses of society to modify their prejudiced outlooks (2). Malthus laments the lack of communication between these opposite factions and points out both are so concerned with dismissing the arguments of the other they have lost their drive to search for the truth.

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ECONLIB Books

An Essay on the Principle of Population

By thomas robert malthus.

There are two versions of Thomas Robert Malthus’s Essay on the Principle of Population . The first, published anonymously in 1798, was so successful that Malthus soon elaborated on it under his real name. * The rewrite, culminating in the sixth edition of 1826, was a scholarly expansion and generalization of the first.Following his success with his work on population, Malthus published often from his economics position on the faculty at the East India College at Haileybury. He was not only respected in his time by contemporaneous intellectuals for his clarity of thought and willingness to focus on the evidence at hand, but he was also an engaging writer capable of presenting logical and mathematical concepts succinctly and clearly. In addition to writing principles texts and articles on timely topics such as the corn laws, he wrote in many venues summarizing his initial works on population, including a summary essay in the Encyclopædia Britannica on population.The first and sixth editions are presented on Econlib in full. Minor corrections of punctuation, obvious spelling errors, and some footnote clarifications are the only substantive changes. * Malthus’s “real name” may have been Thomas Robert Malthus, but a descendent, Nigel Malthus, reports that his family says he did not use the name Thomas and was known to friends and colleagues as Bob. See The Malthus Homepage, a site maintained by Nigel Malthus, a descendent.For more information on Malthus’s life and works, see New School Profiles: Thomas Robert Malthus and The International Society of Malthus. Lauren Landsburg

Editor, Library of Economics and Liberty

First Pub. Date

London: J. Johnson, in St. Paul's Church-yard

1st edition

The text of this edition is in the public domain. Picture of Malthus courtesy of The Warren J. Samuels Portrait Collection at Duke University.

Table of Contents

• Chapter III
• Chapter VII
• Chapter VIII
• Chapter XII
• Chapter XIII
• Chapter XIV
• Chapter XVI
• Chapter XVII
• Chapter XVIII
• Chapter XIX

The following Essay owes its origin to a conversation with a friend, on the subject of Mr. Godwin’s Essay, on avarice and profusion, in his Enquirer. The discussion, started the general question of the future improvement of society; and the Author at first sat down with an intention of merely stating his thoughts to his friend, upon paper, in a clearer manner than he thought he could do in conversation. But as the subject opened upon him, some ideas occurred, which he did not recollect to have met with before; and as he conceived, that every, the least light, on a topic so generally interesting, might be received with candour, he determined to put his thoughts in a form for publication.

The Essay might, undoubtedly, have been rendered much more complete by a collection of a greater number of facts in elucidation of the general argument. But a long and almost total interruption, from very particular business, joined to a desire (perhaps imprudent) of not delaying the publication much beyond the time that he originally proposed, prevented the Author from giving to the subject an undivided attention. He presumes, however, that the facts which he has adduced, will be found, to form no inconsiderable evidence for the truth of his opinion respecting the future improvement of mankind. As the Author contemplates this opinion at present, little more appears to him to be necessary than a plain statement, in addition to the most cursory view of society, to establish it.

It is an obvious truth, which has been taken notice of by many writers, that population must always be kept down to the level of the means of subsistence; but no writer, that the Author recollects, has inquired particularly into the means by which this level is effected: and it is a view of these means, which forms, to his mind, the strongest obstacle in the way to any very great future improvement of society. He hopes it will appear that, in the discussion of this interesting subject, he is actuated solely by a love of truth; and not by any prejudices against any particular set of men, or of opinions. He professes to have read some of the speculations on the future improvement of society, in a temper very different from a wish to find them visionary; but he has not acquired that command over his understanding which would enable him to believe what he wishes, without evidence, or to refuse his assent to what might be unpleasing, when accompanied with evidence.

The view which he has given of human life has a melancholy hue; but he feels conscious, that he has drawn these dark tints, from a conviction that they are really in the picture; and not from a jaundiced eye or an inherent spleen of disposition. The theory of mind which he has sketched in the two last chapters, accounts to his own understanding in a satisfactory manner, for the existence of most of the evils of life; but whether it will have the same effect upon others, must be left to the judgement of his readers.

If he should succeed in drawing the attention of more able men, to what he conceives to be the principal difficulty in the way to the improvement of society, and should, in consequence, see this difficulty removed, even in theory, he will gladly retract his present opinions and rejoice in a conviction of his error.