Q.Describe the
main postulates of the Malthusian
population theory.What are
Malthus” main arguments
for limiting human
fertility ?
ANSWER
Malthusian Theory of Population
Thomas
Robert Malthus was the first economist to propose a systematic theory of
population. He articulated his views regarding population in his famous
book, Essay on the Principle of Population (1798), for which he
collected empirical data to support his thesis. Malthus had the second edition
of his book published in 1803, in which he modified some of his views from the
first edition, but essentially his original thesis did not change.
In
Essay on the Principle of Population,Malthus proposes the principle that
human populations grow exponentially (i.e., doubling with each cycle) while
food production grows at an arithmetic rate (i.e. by the repeated addition of a
uniform increment in each uniform interval of time). Thus, while food output
was likely to increase in a series of twenty-five year intervals in the
arithmetic progression 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, and so on, population was
capable of increasing in the geometric progression 1, 2, 4, 8, 16, 32, 64, 128,
256, and so forth. This scenario of arithmetic food growth with
simultaneous geometric human population growth predicted a future when humans
would have no resources to survive on. To avoid such a catastrophe,
Malthus urged controls on population growth.
On
the basis of a hypothetical world population of one billion in the early
nineteenth century and an adequate means of subsistence at that time, Malthus
suggested that there was a potential for a population increase to 256 billion
within 200 years but that the means of subsistence were only capable of being
increased enough for nine billion to be fed at the level prevailing at the
beginning of the period. He therefore considered that the population increase
should be kept down to the level at which it could be supported by the
operation of various checks on population growth, which he categorized as
"preventive" and "positive" checks.
The
chief preventive check envisaged by Malthus was that of "moral
restraint", which was seen as a deliberate decision by men to refrain
"from pursuing the dictate of nature in an early attachment to one
woman", i.e. to marry later in life than had been usual and only at a
stage when fully capable of supporting a family. This, it was anticipated,
would give rise to smaller families and probably to fewer families, but Malthus
was strongly opposed to birth control within marriage and did not suggest that
parents should try to restrict the number of children born to them after their
marriage. Malthus was clearly aware that problems might arise from the
postponement of marriage to a later date, such as an increase in the number of
illegitimate births, but considered that these problems were likely to be less
serious than those caused by a continuation of rapid population increase.
He
saw positive checks to population growth as being any causes that contributed
to the shortening of human lifespans. He included in this category poor living
and working conditions which might give rise to low resistance to disease, as
well as more obvious factors such as disease itself, war, and famine. Some of
the conclusions that can be drawn from Malthus's ideas thus have obvious
political connotations and this partly accounts for the interest in his
writings and possibly also the misrepresentation of some of his ideas by
authors such as Cobbett, the famous early English radical. Some later
writers modified his ideas, suggesting, for example, strong government action
to ensure later marriages. Others did not accept the view that birth control
should be forbidden after marriage, and one group in particular, called the Malthusian
League, strongly argued the case for birth control, though this was contrary to
the principles of conduct which Malthus himself advocated.
