Books

. 4to. VIII,[4],610p. Contemp. calf, rebacked to style, boards rubbed but neatly reconsolidated. Stamp on title, occasional foxing, mostly limited to the first and a few other quires, two pages with a marginal tear. A good copy. Second edition, the so-called great quarto'. This edition was thoroughly and drastically revised and was practically a new book. The first edition of 1798 was an octavo volume counting 400 page only; it was published anonymously.

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.