An Essay on the Principle of Population
Written by Thomas Maltus
Narrated by Ethan Williams
5/5
()
About this audiobook
Thomas Malthus, an English economist and cleric, published his influential work "An Essay on the Principle of Population" in 1798. The book introduced the idea that population growth would outstrip resources in the long run, leading to catastrophic consequences such as famine, disease, and war.
Malthus argued that population growth was exponential, while resources grew at a much slower arithmetic rate. This meant that over time, the population would inevitably outstrip the ability of the land to produce food, leading to a "positive check" on population growth in the form of famine, disease, or war.
Malthus also identified a "preventative check" on population growth, which he saw as the moral restraint of individuals to delay marriage and childbirth until they could support a family. However, he believed that this restraint would only be effective for the wealthy and educated classes, while the poor would continue to have large families out of necessity.
Malthus's ideas were controversial at the time, as they challenged the prevailing belief in progress and the idea that human ingenuity and technological advances could overcome any resource constraints. However, his ideas gained traction in the 19th century as Europe experienced a series of famines and population pressures, and his work influenced later economists such as David Ricardo and John Stuart Mill.
Critics of Malthus have argued that his predictions did not come to pass, as the world has experienced significant improvements in food production and living standards over the last two centuries. However, Malthus's ideas continue to influence debates on population growth, resource constraints, and environmental sustainability.
Related to An Essay on the Principle of Population
Related audiobooks
Capitalism, Alone: The Future of the System That Rules the World Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5Leave Me Alone and I'll Make You Rich: How the Bourgeois Deal Enriched the World Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5Why Liberalism Works: How True Liberal Values Produce a Freer, More Equal, Prosperous World for All Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5How an Economy Grows and Why It Crashes Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Money and Power: The World Leaders Who Changed Economics Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsThe Dao of Capital: Austrian Investing in a Distorted World Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Private Government: How Employers Rule Our Lives (and Why We Don't Talk about It) Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5What Is to Be Done: Political Engagement and Saving the Planet Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5The Theory of Moral Sentiments Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5The Wealth of Nations Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5The Principles of Political Economy, and Taxation Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsThe General Theory of Employment, Interest, and Money Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsA Preface to Politics Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsAnatomy of the State Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Twilight of the Elites: Prosperity, the Periphery, and the Future of France Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Ludwig Von Mises's "The Theory of Money and Credit": A Macat Analysis Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Betrayal of the American Dream Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Power Elite Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5A Tract on Monetary Reform - Keynes Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsDemocracy in America Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5On Liberty Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsLiberalism In the Classical Tradition Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsWinner-Take-All Politics: How Washington Made the Rich Richer--and Turned Its Back on the Middle Class Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5GDP: A Brief but Affectionate History - Revised and expanded Edition Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Economic Consequences of the Peace Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsEconomic calculation in the socialist commonwealth Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsThe Crowd: A Study of the Popular Mind Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Open Society and Its Enemies: New One-Volume Edition Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Rights of Man Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Law Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5
Social Science For You
All the Light We Cannot See: A Novel Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Lonely Dad Conversations Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Parable of the Sower Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Demon Copperhead: A Novel Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5The Hunger Games Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Hillbilly Elegy: A Memoir of a Family and Culture in Crisis Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Leave the World Behind: A Novel Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5Come As You Are: Revised and Updated: The Surprising New Science That Will Transform Your Sex Life Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5The Name of the Wind Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Warmth of Other Suns: The Epic Story of America's Great Migration Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Kindred Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Overstory Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Black AF History: The Un-Whitewashed Story of America Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5The Road Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Year of Magical Thinking Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Hate U Give Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Radiolab: Mixtape: How The Cassette Changed The World Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Cultish: The Language of Fanaticism Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The New Jim Crow: Mass Incarceration in the Age of Colorblindness, 10th Anniversary Edition Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Braiding Sweetgrass: Indigenous Wisdom, Scientific Knowledge and the Teachings of Plants Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Radiolab: Journey Through The Human Body Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Jesus and John Wayne: How White Evangelicals Corrupted a Faith and Fractured a Nation Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Land of Delusion: Out on the edge with the crackpots and conspiracy-mongers remaking our shared reality Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Guns, Germs and Steel: The Fates of Human Societies Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Left Hand of Darkness Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Fourth Turning Is Here: What the Seasons of History Tell Us about How and When This Crisis Will End Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Waking Up: A Guide to Spirituality Without Religion Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Being Mortal: Medicine and What Matters in the End Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Small Mercies: A Novel Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Kingdom, the Power, and the Glory: American Evangelicals in an Age of Extremism Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5
Reviews for An Essay on the Principle of Population
1 rating0 reviews