Books

London: Printed for J. Johnson...by T. Bensley, 1803. The Economics of Population MALTHUS, T[homas] R[obert]. An Essay on the Principle of Population; Or, 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. A new edition, very much enlarged. London: Printed for J. Johnson... by T. Bensley, 1803. Second edition, enlarged and revised. Quarto. viii, [4], 610 pp. Contemporary calf, skillfully rebacked to style and with corners renewed. Spine decoratively tooled in gilt compartments with burgundy morocco gilt lettering label. Endpapers renewed. Occasional light foxing. Title-page with publisher's diagonal paper flaw crease. Overall very good. A completely revised and greatly expanded edition of the most influential work on population ever written. Malthus published the first edition of his Essay in 1798, and was apparently unprepared for the torrent of controversy…

The book addresses the relationship between population growth and food supply. Malthus argued that population tends to grow exponentially, while food production increases only arithmetically, meaning that population growth would eventually outpace the ability to produce enough food. He suggested that without checks, such as famine, disease, or war, overpopulation would lead to widespread poverty and suffering. Malthus identified two types of checks on population growth: "positive checks," which raise the death rate (such as famine and disease), and "preventive checks," which reduce the birth rate (such as moral restraint, later marriage, or celibacy). He believed that without preventive measures, human misery was inevitable. Malthus’s work had a lasting influence on economic and demographic theories, and his ideas about population pressure also influenced Charles Darwin’s theory of natural selection. Although some of his predictions were mitigated by technological advances in agriculture, his work remains important in discussions of overpopulation and resource sustainability.