Contrary to conventional wisdom, Thomas Malthus in his An Essay on the Principle of Population (1798) did not actually predict a population crisis, but instead merely showed that William Godwin had overlooked an important mathematical truth. Malthuss treatise did contain a warning, however, that the ideals behind the French Revolution would spawn utopian schemes that would destroy vital social institutionsa prophecy whose realization makes the book worth reading today.
Malthus Was Not a Malthusian
By J. Daniel Hammond
This
article
appeared in
the Spring 2020 issue of The Independent Review.
Other Independent Review articles by J. Daniel Hammond | |
Winter 2020/21 | American Conservatism:Reclaiming an Intellectual Tradition |
Winter 2013/14 | What to Expect When No Ones Expecting:Americas Coming Demographic Disaster |